desultory
/ˈdɛs.əlˌtɔɹ.i/adjective
desultory is spelled D-E-S-U-L-T-O-R-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, desultory means “Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order, planning, or rational connection; lacking logical sequence” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in desultory?
| Letters | 9: D-E-S-U-L-T-O-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 84,254th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is desultory?
Desultory appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce desultory?
- UK /ˈdɛs.əl.t(ə).ɹi/
- UK /ˈdɛz.əl.t(ə).ɹi/
- US /ˈdɛs.əlˌtɔɹ.i/
Desultory has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-desultory.ogg, En-us-desultory-2.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of desultory
- more desultory comparative
- most desultory superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does desultory mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order, planning, or rational connection; lacking logical sequence.
Near-synonyms: aimless, chaotic, disconnected, erratic, haphazard, meandering, quodlibetic, quodlibetical, random, rambling, scattered, unmethodical, unsystematic, wandering
- 2
Out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject.
Near-synonyms: extraneous, incidental, irrelevant, nongermane, spurious, stray, unconnected, ungermane, unrelated
- 3
Disappointing in performance or progress.
Near-synonyms: half-assed, halfhearted
- 4
obsoleteLeaping, skipping or flitting about, generally in a random or unsteady manner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Desultory in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | sprunghaft, unzusammenhängend |
| Portuguese | desultório |
| Spanish | incoherente, inconexo , desganado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does desultory come from?
From Latin dēsultōrius (“hasty, casual, superficial”), from dēsultor (“a circus rider who jumped from one galloping horse to another”), from dēsiliō (“jump down”), from dē (“down”) + saliō (“jump, leap”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).