1. lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm; done in a random or halfhearted way

Examples

• She made a few desultory attempts to clean her room before giving up.
• The conversation was desultory, jumping from topic to topic without focus.
• His desultory reading habits meant he never finished most books he started.
• The team’s desultory effort in practice showed they weren’t prepared for the game.
• After lunch, we took a desultory walk around the neighborhood.
• The student’s desultory note-taking made studying for the exam difficult.