How to Use desultory in a Sentence

desultory

adjective
Definition of desultorynext
Synonyms for desultorynext
  • For both Mofe and Rosa, the ambition to leave comes to seem desultory.
    — Teju Cole, The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2021
  • In past elections, this was a desultory phase of the campaign.
    — Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2021
  • The bat snapped at the handle as Devers started out of the box on a desultory journey down the line.
    — Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 22 June 2023
  • The Astros had coughed up a two games to none lead in the series, losing three straight in New York in desultory fashion.
    — Ben Reiter, SI.com, 19 Oct. 2017
  • So King came to the camp and fell into its desultory rhythm marked by the white noise of daytime traffic below and moan of the fog horns at night.
    — Ruben Vivesstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2022
  • In a desultory performance on a humid day, the Sox were overwhelmed by righthander Joe Ryan in a 6-0 loss.
    — Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 22 June 2023
  • Gone, too, is the massive fountain that, for much of the year, had the desultory look of an empty, slightly moldy, swimming pool.
    — Inga Saffron, Philly.com, 26 Apr. 2018
  • The things the Yankees need correcting were on full display in a desultory sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays.
    — Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2021
  • But Newton couldn’t get the Panthers into the end zone even once during a desultory 17-3 loss to the Chicago Bears.
    — Scott Fowler, charlotteobserver, 22 Oct. 2017
  • Thomas played a final, desultory season with the Jets, then went home to Georgia, his life at a crossroads.
    — New York Times, 5 July 2022
  • Lowry, once known as a hothead and a man who seemed destined to take a desultory path through the NBA, became the team’s conscience in this series.
    — Bruce Jenkins, SFChronicle.com, 13 June 2019
  • The prose, much of it flat or clichéd, only underscores the desultory effect.
    — New York Times, 5 Apr. 2022
  • Or taking desultory sips of wine and shifting their feet?
    — Steven Levy, Wired, 18 June 2020
  • The other will be for Word documents and desultory Googling.
    — Conor Orr, SI.com, 17 July 2019
  • On the soundtrack there was some desultory chatter and the hum of fluorescent lights.
    — Emily Carter Roiphe, Longreads, 22 Feb. 2018
  • The largest centre-left party, called Blue and White, has run a desultory campaign plagued by infighting and gaffes.
    — The Economist, 12 Sep. 2019
  • The stadium thermometer was stuck past 100 degrees and the sky was hazy from fires to the north, all of which might have explained the desultory performance and the half-full stands.
    — David Wharton, latimes.com, 2 Sep. 2017
  • The new stadium, in contrast, has too often had a desultory vibe.
    — Billy Witz, New York Times, 25 May 2017
  • Mike Zimmer often makes lists of coaches on the hot seat, and that talk picked up again after his team’s desultory loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night.
    — Childs Walker, baltimoresun.com, 5 Nov. 2021
  • Pádraic herds his handful of cattle down a track, in a desultory fashion.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2022
  • Every conversation is downbeat and desultory; the days seem too hot, too endless to come to a point.
    — Helen Shaw, Vulture, 23 June 2022
  • Yet by noon, life continued at its desultory pace as people began to stir in the dozen structures pressed against the guardrail over the 101 Freeway in downtown L.A.
    — Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2022
  • The fourth-year player also vowed to be a better teammate, saying that learned from his desultory attitude at the start of the series.
    — Ben Steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2018
  • Hers is a desultory life that probably won’t get much better.
    — Peter Plagens, WSJ, 7 Mar. 2018
  • But the memory lingers of his desultory final set against Thiem in the French Open quarterfinals.
    — Christopher Clarey, New York Times, 6 July 2017
  • The changes made this offseason were ones the coach was going to make anyway following a desultory 8-9 campaign.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Apr. 2023
  • The Fall toured constantly through its four decades, playing sets that could be spellbinding or desultory.
    — Jon Pareles, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2018
  • The symphony of noisy New York, reduced for what felt like forever to a desultory hum, seems to be rising in volume every day now.
    — Washington Post, 11 July 2021
  • The Ávila family moved out in 1869, and the place slipped into desultory habitation.
    — Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2022
  • When Freddy and his mother reentered the dining room, there was desultory applause.
    — Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 9 July 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'desultory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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