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desultory |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Desultory \Des"ul*to*ry\, a. [L. desultorius, fr desultor a leaper, fr desilire desultum to leap down de + salire to leap. See {Saltation}.] 1. Leaping or skipping about [Obs.] I shot at it [a bird], but it was so desultory that I missed my aim --Gilbert White. 2. Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection; without logical sequence; disconnected; immethodical; aimless; as desultory minds. --Atterbury. He [Goldsmith] knew nothing accurately; his reading had been desultory. --Macaulay. 3. Out of course; by the way as a digression; not connected with the subject; as a desultory remark. Syn: Rambling; roving; immethodical; discursive; inconstant; unsettled; cursory; slight; hasty; loose. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: desultory adj : marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another; "desultory thoughts"; "the desultory conversation characteristic of cocktail parties"
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