Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- In a perfunctory, careless, or half-hearted manner; without zeal or interest; in a manner to satisfy external form merely, or so as to conform to the letter but not to the spirit; with careless indifference; negligently.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adverb In a perfunctory manner; formally; carelessly.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb In a
perfunctory manner, withoutinterest or concern forquality .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adverb in a set manner without serious attention
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word perfunctorily.
Examples
-
Scheiman called perfunctorily for Mrs McIverney, for a bath to be drawn, and for clothing to be brought, ignoring my (admittedly feeble) protestations that none of this was necessary with a great deal more brusqueness than I should have expected in a mere secretary.
The Moor King, Laurie R. 1998
-
And Billikens, very angry, very disgusted, very embarrassed, obeyed, putting his arms around his wife and kissing her neither too perfunctorily nor very long.
CHAPTER XXV 2010
-
The receptionist finally found the booking and handed her a card to fill out, which she did quickly, almost perfunctorily.
The Empty Family Colm Tóibín 2011
-
“Hi,” said Jessa perfunctorily before tugging once again on her mother.
Slice Of Cherry Dia Reeves 2011
-
“Hi,” said Jessa perfunctorily before tugging once again on her mother.
Slice Of Cherry Dia Reeves 2011
-
With an appetite that would not have stopped at wire nails dipped in lard, Grief ate perfunctorily, and tossed the scraps to the dog.
-
Although in the final paragraph of its first editorial on the subject, the newspaper perfunctorily expresses its faith in a two-state solution, its spin on these documents over the past week suggests otherwise.
The Real 'Palestine Papers' Scandal Michael Weiss 2011
-
His client nodded perfunctorily and motioned him on, so Gilliam clicked the map to full zoom.
365 tomorrows » 2009 » June : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2009
-
Before he passed out, he tried to grope me perfunctorily – almost dutifully – but gave up with apparent and unflattering relief when I brushed him off.
-
“Hi,” said Jessa perfunctorily before tugging once again on her mother.
Slice Of Cherry Dia Reeves 2011
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.