Desultorily
adverb
Done without a clear plan or direction.
He flipped through the pages of the book desultorily.

Often appears as...
- talk desultorily
- read desultorily
adverb
Done in a way that shows lack of interest or enthusiasm.
She responded to his joke desultorily.

Often appears as...
- respond desultorily
- laugh desultorily
adverb
Done without a clear plan or direction.
He flipped through the pages of the book desultorily.

Often appears as...
- talk desultorily
- read desultorily
adverb
Done in a way that shows lack of interest or enthusiasm.
She responded to his joke desultorily.

Often appears as...
- respond desultorily
- laugh desultorily
Definition 1 of 2

Plan-less Action
Use 'desultorily' to describe an action done without purpose or clear intention, often aimlessly.

He wandered around the town desultorily, with no destination in mind.
Subtle Disinterest
'Desultorily' often hints at a very mild, unobvious lack of engagement or concern.

He engaged in the conversation desultorily, not really interested in the topic.
Not Random
Despite meaning 'aimlessly', 'desultorily' doesn’t imply randomness, but a lack of focus.

She browsed the shelves desultorily, picking up books and putting them back without much thought.
Plan-less Action
Use 'desultorily' to describe an action done without purpose or clear intention, often aimlessly.

He wandered around the town desultorily, with no destination in mind.
Subtle Disinterest
'Desultorily' often hints at a very mild, unobvious lack of engagement or concern.

He engaged in the conversation desultorily, not really interested in the topic.
Not Random
Despite meaning 'aimlessly', 'desultorily' doesn’t imply randomness, but a lack of focus.

She browsed the shelves desultorily, picking up books and putting them back without much thought.
Plan-less Action
Use 'desultorily' to describe an action done without purpose or clear intention, often aimlessly.

He wandered around the town desultorily, with no destination in mind.
Subtle Disinterest
'Desultorily' often hints at a very mild, unobvious lack of engagement or concern.

He engaged in the conversation desultorily, not really interested in the topic.
Not Random
Despite meaning 'aimlessly', 'desultorily' doesn’t imply randomness, but a lack of focus.

She browsed the shelves desultorily, picking up books and putting them back without much thought.
Compare with
casualerraticallynegligentperfunctorilyrandomsporadicallysuperficialthoughtless
WordUp Chrome Extension
As you browse the web instantly look up words you don’t know.
Get Chrome Extension