desultory
lacking a clear plan or order; jumping from thing to thing
Roots
- de-: down, away, reversal, reduction, or removal
- sal / sult: leap, jump, spring, or spring back
Other words with the sal / sult root
- assail: to attack forcefully or criticize harshly
- resilient: able to recover or spring back
- salient: most noticeable, important, or projecting
- somersault: a jump or roll in which the body turns over
Desultory thinking jumps around instead of staying with one line.
His desultory notes moved from biology to rent to exam dates with no order.
The old image is a rider jumping from horse to horse. Modern desultory keeps that scattered movement: speech, reading, effort, or thought that keeps landing somewhere else.