Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Done routinely and with little interest or care.
- adjective Acting with indifference; showing little interest or care.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Done mechanically or without interest or zeal, and merely for the sake of getting rid of the duty; done in a half-hearted or careless manner, or so as to conform to the letter but not to the spirit; careless; negligent.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Done merely to get rid of a duty; performed mechanically and as a thing of rote; done in a careless and superficial manner; characterized by indifference.
- adjective Hence: Mechanical; indifferent; listless; careless.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Done merely to discharge a duty; performed mechanically and as a thing of rote; done in a careless and superficial manner; characterized by indifference; as, perfunctory admonitions; aspiring only to minimum standards.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective as a formality only
- adjective hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Sequences that could sing with tension and excitement are done in perfunctory fashion.
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Although previously prepared forms may be used, special care should be exercised to insure that the use of forms of report of investigation does not result in perfunctory or inaccurate certifications of compliance with the requirements of this paragraph (34).
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I introduced myself, and at my name his perfunctory manner changed.
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In other news I’m still a bit sick, working my way through the Tennessee Hamthrax Aric gave me last week; so if posting is a bit light or perfunctory which is to say, a string of announcements or links for a few more days, I hope you’ll forgive me.
February 18, 2010 2010
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In other news I’m still a bit sick, working my way through the Tennessee Hamthrax Aric gave me last week; so if posting is a bit light or perfunctory which is to say, a string of announcements or links for a few more days, I hope you’ll forgive me.
February 18, 2010 michael_b_lee 2010
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Appropriate commentary then becomes an issue of finding the right kind of perfunctory praise, in some cases an emphasis on the "sensational copy" that occasionally accompanies this or that book.
Book Reviewing 2010
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When Willie did bother to sing, his voice was rich and strong, but "perfunctory" would be a kind way to describe most of his vocal and instrumental work.
Archive 2009-07-01 David Wharton 2009
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When Willie did bother to sing, his voice was rich and strong, but "perfunctory" would be a kind way to describe most of his vocal and instrumental work.
Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan in Durham David Wharton 2009
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There weren't any kind of perfunctory congratulations at all, Heidi.
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I heard Bill Nichols, managing editor of Politico. com, tell all DC news radio WTOP that Hillary gave only a "perfunctory" performance -- a "bare minimum of support for Obama."
ravages commented on the word perfunctory
forced
out-of-habit
monotonous
careless
superficial
December 15, 2007
Prolagus commented on the word perfunctory
Time is not a great healer. It is an indifferent and perfunctory one. Sometimes it does not heal at all. And sometimes when it seems to, no healing has been necessary.
Ivy Compton-Burnett
March 15, 2008
bilby commented on the word perfunctory
"Though it was supposed to be proper for them to have an occupation, the crude fact of money-making was still regarded as derogatory, and the law, being a profession, was accounted a more gentlemanly pursuit than business. But none of these young men had much hope of really advancing in his profession, or any earnest desire to do so; and over many of them the green mould of the perfunctory was already perceptibly spreading."
- Edith Wharton, 'The Age of Innocence'.
September 19, 2009
garyguthrie commented on the word perfunctory
Heard about you on A Way with Words, one of my three favorite podcasts (Fresh Air and Sound Opinions being the others).
October 1, 2009
shanvrolijk commented on the word perfunctory
But allowing tourists to move about freely is hardly just a matter of making checkpoints perfunctory.
February 9, 2018
ranjanj4 commented on the word perfunctory
Preparing for Gre is not a perfunctory Idea.
November 15, 2018