desultory

adj.

1. Having no set plan; haphazard or random. See synonyms at chance.
2. Moving or jumping from one thing to another; disconnected: a desultory speech.

[Latin dēsultōrius, leaping, from dēsultor, a leaper, from dēsultus, past participle of dēsilīre, to leap down : dē-, de- + salīre, to jump.]

desultorily des'ul·to'ri·ly adv.
desultoriness des'ul·to'ri·ness n.

(DES-uhl-tor-ee)

adjective
1. Marked by absence of a plan; disconnected; jumping from one thing to another.
2. Digressing from the main subject; random.

Etymology
From Latin desultorius (leaping, pertaining to a circus rider who jumps from one horse to another), from desilire (to leap down), from salire (to jump). Other words derived from the same Latin root (salire) are sally, somersault, insult, result, saute, salient, and our recent friend, saltant.

Usage
"The green lobby complained, and the media covered the story in a desultory way, but everyone continued to behave as though there was lots of time." — Gwynne Dyer; Climate Change: Not Clear on the Concept; Monday Morning (Beirut, Lebanon); Jul 13, 2003.

"For most of the match, the play could be described as either dazzling or desultory." — Roy Masters; Origin Hopes Have Hit Man Flannery Going in For the Kill; Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Jun 2, 2003.

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adjective

1. Without aim, purpose, or intent: aimless, pointless, purposeless. See purpose/purposelessness.
2. Having no particular pattern, purpose, organization, or structure: chance, haphazard, hit-or-miss, indiscriminate, random, spot, unplanned. See planned/unplanned.

IN BRIEF: Aimless or haphazard.

The day was so hot that everyone went about their chores in a desultory fashion.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - ustadig, overfladisk, planløs

Nederlands (Dutch)
onsystematisch, halfslachtig

Français (French)
adj. - décousu, sans suite, sans méthode, peu suivi, peu soutenu (une tentative), irrégulier, interrompu, intermittent (un contact)

Deutsch (German)
adj. - sprunghaft, ungezwungen, planlos

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - αμεθόδευτος, πρόχειρος, ασυστηματοποίητος (κν. ξεκάρφωτος), ακατάστατος, ασύνδετος

Italiano (Italian)
saltuario

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - desconexo, incoerente

Русский (Russian)
бессвязный, беспорядочный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - poco metódico, esporádico

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - ostadig, virrig, flyktig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
散漫的, 不连贯的, 断断续续的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 散漫的, 不連貫的, 斷斷續續的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 일관성이 결여된, 어수선한, 우왕좌왕하는, 탈선적인

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 散漫な, 気まぐれな, とりとめのない

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) غير مترابط, عابر, غير ذي منهج او هدف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮לא שיטתי, שיטחי‬

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