From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdesultorydes‧ul‧to‧ry /ˈdesəltəri, ˈdez- $ -tɔːri/ adjective formal PLAN#done without any particular plan or purpose They talked briefly in a desultory manner. —desultorily /ˈdesəltərəli, ˈdez- $ -tɔːrəli/ adverb
Examples from the Corpus
desultory• Curious, therefore, that the reception was so desultory.• It perfectly caught the air of feebleness which has characterised months of desultory chatter.• a desultory conversation• He answered a few questions in a desultory fashion, even, it seemed, a little grudgingly.• Conversation was desultory for we were all exhausted though Mandeville declared that tomorrow he would spread his net.• Yet sedimentation and disappearing marshes alone can not explain the thickening of the bay's waters and its desultory humours.• The peace of Utrecht ended the war proper in 1713, but desultory skirmishes carried on until 1714.• She greets us in a desultory way, nothing at all like her usual greeting.Origin desultory (1500-1600) Latin desultorius, from desilire “to jump down” 