perfunctory
Americanadjective
-
performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial.
perfunctory courtesy.
- Synonyms:
- uninterested, thoughtless, heedless, negligent
-
lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; indifferent or apathetic.
In his lectures he reveals himself to be merely a perfunctory speaker.
- Synonyms:
- uninterested, thoughtless, heedless, negligent
adjective
-
done superficially, only as a matter of routine; careless or cursory
-
dull or indifferent
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of perfunctory
1575–85; < Late Latin perfūnctōrius negligent, superficial, derivative of perfungī to do one's job, be done, equivalent to per- per- + fung-, base of fungī to perform, function + -tōrius -tory 1
Explanation
Perfunctory means done as part of a routine or duty. If you give someone a gift and they look at it like it's roadkill and say nothing but a perfunctory "thank you," you might not be giving them another one anytime soon. A person who does something in a perfunctory way shows little enthusiasm or interest in what they are doing. Many of our everyday greetings are perfunctory. For example, when we say "Hello" and "How are you?", we usually do so out of habit. Perfunctory is from Latin perfunctus, from perfungi, "to get through with, perform," formed from the Latin prefix per-, "completely," plus fungi, "to perform."
Vocabulary lists containing perfunctory
100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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"The Lottery," Vocabulary from the short story
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"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
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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.
And there’s nothing about this show that is perfunctory.
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
After rushing through a perfunctory account of the expedition, Ms. Adelman gets to the root of the problem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
“This constellation of foreign investment from China and from Gulf States, with complex and sometimes competing relationships with the United States, demands rigorous, not perfunctory review,” Booker and the others wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
The much criticised Youssef Chermiti scored an extraordinary double before Kasper Schmeichel flapped at Mikey Moore's perfunctory shot.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
The one-eyed angel nodded a perfunctory “Hola” to Amarante, folded its beat-up wings—whose feathers rattled obscenely like those of a zopilote—and, like someone catering to hemorrhoids, eased painfully down nearby with an audible “Whew.”
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
