desultory

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Then again, it’s all too easy to be distracted from the desultory happenings on stage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

The playfulness of Wohl’s style, while at times informal to the point of desultory, treats the past as an autonomous reality.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2025

Last night he did an obscure X interview show and seemed desultory and depressed.

From Salon • Sep. 4, 2024

Once we got to the beach, we would start a desultory routine of sitting out on the sand in the morning, then waiting in line at fish camps in the evenings.

From Slate • Sep. 1, 2023

Mostly he says incomprehensible things in Kikongo but also speaks like Mr. Poe’s Raven a desultory English.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver