DESULTORY in a Sentence

Learn DESULTORY from example sentences, some of them are from classic books. These examples are selected from a corpus with 300,000 sentences, including classic works and current mainstream media. Some sentences also link to their contexts.

For DESULTORY, below is one of 12 sentences:
In prison Malcolm X set himself the task of reading straight through the dictionary; to him, reading was purposeful, not desultory.

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 Meanings and Examples of DESULTORY
Definition Example Sentence Classic Sentence
desultory
 a.  aimless; haphazard; at random; not connected with subject
Classic Sentence:
1  Suddenly her expression changed from desultory enjoyment to active conjecture, and she turned to Selden with a question.
House of Mirth By Edith Wharton
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 1: Chapter 1
2  Hitherto he had found, in her presence and her talk, the aesthetic amusement which a reflective man is apt to seek in desultory intercourse with pretty women.
House of Mirth By Edith Wharton
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 1: Chapter 6
3  It was mid-April, and one felt that the revelry had reached its climax and that the desultory groups in the square and gardens would soon dissolve and re-form in other scenes.
House of Mirth By Edith Wharton
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 2: Chapter 1
4  In the lulls, Robert and his mother exchanged bits of desultory conversation.
The Awakening By Kate Chopin
Context  Highlight   In VIII
5  The talk was much more desultory than when only the cronies were there, and everybody was a bit bored, for the weather was bad, and there was only billiards, and the pianola to dance to.
Lady Chatterley's Lover By D H Lawrence
Context  Highlight   In Chapter 7
6  She did not speak many words; and as for him, something had been just done and some words had been just said on the hill which prevented him from beginning a desultory chat.
Return of the Native By Thomas Hardy
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 3: 3 The First Act in a Timeworn Drama
7  In these desultory ramblings she passed the cottage of Susan Nunsuch, a little lower down than her grandfather's.
Return of the Native By Thomas Hardy
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 5: 7 The Night of the Sixth of November
8  Our client appeared to have taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of hope which had been presented to him, and he even broke into a desultory chat with me over his business affairs.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan Doyle
Context  Highlight   In XI. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BERYL CORONET
9  She entreated that there might be no more searching; but it was still sought for, in a desultory way, until she was quite well, and the company took their departure.
David Copperfield By Charles Dickens
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 16. I AM A NEW BOY IN MORE SENSES THAN ONE
10  To mend the matter, Hamlet's aunt had the family failing of indulging in soliloquy, and held forth in a desultory manner, by herself, on every topic that was introduced.
David Copperfield By Charles Dickens
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER 25. GOOD AND BAD ANGELS
Example Sentence:
1  In prison Malcolm X set himself the task of reading straight through the dictionary; to him, reading was purposeful, not desultory.
2  She made a desultory attempt at conversation.