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Glite Dictionary
disjointed conversation

disjointed conversation

6.8
A talk that jumps between topics and does not follow a clear idea
  • noun
  • /dɪsˈdʒɔɪntɪd kənˈvərseɪʃən/
translation icon : conversación desarticulada
  • Their disjointed conversation shifted from politics to cooking without any clear connection.

Examples

  • I found it hard to follow the disjointed conversation between the two friends at the café.

  • During the meeting, the disjointed conversation made it difficult to focus on the main agenda.

  • He had no more strength this morning for disjointed conversations over that miracle of modern communication, the telephone.

    Fiction book (1999)

Synonyms

rambling
vsdisjointed conversation
33 5.5

Long confused speech or writing that is hard to follow

jumps abruptly between unrelated topics instead of forming a long disorganized flow
jabbering
vsdisjointed conversation
  • Informal
4 7.9

Fast, unclear talk that is hard to understand

is about loss of logical continuity and topic jumps rather than speed
word hole
vsdisjointed conversation
  • Informal
9.9

A confusing, unfocused discussion that goes nowhere

is more about broken logical links and quick topic shifts

Surface Forms

disjointed conversation singular
disjointed conversations plural

Morphology

disjointed + conversation

The meaning 'a conversation that lacks coherence' is directly and transparently derived from combining the adjective 'disjointed' (disconnected, incoherent) with 'conversation' (a dialogue). This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition following common semantic patterns (and similar constructions exist in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both words would be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase disjointed conversation comes from the idea of disjointed meaning 'not joined' pieces in a conversation. So it means 'a talk that jumps between topics and does not flow well'.