cursory

[ kur-suh-ree ]

/ ˈkɜr sə ri /

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adjective

going rapidly over something, without noticing details; hasty; superficial: a cursory glance at a newspaper article.

OTHER WORDS FOR cursory

quick, brief, passing, haphazard.

See synonyms for cursory on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of cursory

1595–1605; <Late Latin cursōrius running, equivalent to Latin cur(rere) to run + -sōrius, for -tōrius-tory¹; cf. course

OTHER WORDS FROM cursory

cur·so·ri·ly, adverbcur·so·ri·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use cursory in a sentence

A cursory search will indicate that the Big Ten is home to at least a handful of the most intimidating environments in the sport.
Home Teams Aren’t Winning As Much In College Football This Season. The Big Ten Should Fit Right In.|Josh Planos|October 21, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
As even a cursory glance at unemployment figures and business closures around the country will show, 2020 has to be the worst year in the history of modern restaurants.
What it’s like to open a new restaurant during a pandemic|Rachel King|October 7, 2020|Fortune
A cursory analysis of recent history can clearly tell us that no such societal transformation will occur simply because professionals and intellectuals say it should.
With quality content, publishers can overcome the ‘tyranny of choice’|Duration Media|October 1, 2020|Digiday
Bryson leaves little unexplored, however cursorily, least of all the foibles of human nature.
Great New Reads|The Daily Beast|October 15, 2010|DAILY BEAST

I wonder that my mind dwells upon suicide more and more rarely, ever more cursorily.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman
Anyhow, we have set down here some of our first impressions of swearing, and now we are cursorily writing its history.
A Cursory History of Swearing|Julian Sharman
Glancing cursorily into the stereoscope, he even fancied that she was averting her eyes because she was ashamed.
Dream Tales and Prose Poems|Ivan Turgenev
Thus we have followed very cursorily, but with a certain faithfulness nevertheless, the course of Florentine Art.
Florence and Northern Tuscany with Genoa|Edward Hutton
He sketched them cursorily; there was little to tell—little, that is; appealing to a romantic mind for interest.
Lord Ormont and his Aminta, Complete|George Meredith

British Dictionary definitions for cursory

cursory

/ (ˈkɜːsərɪ) /

adjective

hasty and usually superficial; quicka cursory check

Derived forms of cursory

cursorily, adverbcursoriness, noun

Word Origin for cursory

C17: from Late Latin cursōrius of running, from Latin cursus a course, from currere to run

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

cursory

OTHER WORDS FOR cursory

Origin of cursory

OTHER WORDS FROM cursory

Words related to cursory

How to use cursory in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cursory

Derived forms of cursory

Word Origin for cursory