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Synonyms

cursory

American  
[kur-suh-ree] / ˈkɜr sə ri /

adjective

  1. going rapidly over something, without noticing details; hasty; superficial.

    a cursory glance at a newspaper article.

    Synonyms:
    haphazard, passing, brief, quick

cursory British  
/ ˈkɜːsərɪ /

adjective

  1. hasty and usually superficial; quick

    a cursory check

"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

Other Word Forms

  • cursorily adverb
  • cursoriness noun

Etymology

Origin of cursory

1595–1605; < Late Latin cursōrius running, equivalent to Latin cur ( rere ) to run + -sōrius, for -tōrius -tory 1; course

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“But the claim that our country is uniquely aggressive in childhood vaccination collapses under even cursory international comparison,” it concluded.

From Barron's

A cursory glance at your savings, which total $2.6 million, suggests you have both the opportunity and the privilege of funding your daughter’s continuing education.

From MarketWatch

In interviews, some surrogates said they felt the agencies rushed their screenings or did cursory reviews of their backgrounds.

From The Wall Street Journal

A cursory search suggests that most of the media just picked up his names and rolled with them.

From Salon

She gave a cursory glance to the children—and then a second, far sterner look.

From Literature