perfunctory
[ per-fuhngk-tuh-ree ]
/ pərˈfʌŋk tə ri /
Save This Word!
adjective
performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial: perfunctory courtesy.
lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; indifferent or apathetic: In his lectures he reveals himself to be merely a perfunctory speaker.
SYNONYMS FOR perfunctory
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON THE MANY TYPES OF NOUNS
They're everywhere you turn, but can you identify the 10 types of nouns easily? This quiz will test your mettle against singular, plural, concrete, abstract, common, proper, collective, compound, countable, and uncountable nouns!
Question 1 of 7
Shoelaces, rainbow, toothpaste, and haircuts are all what type of noun?
Meet Grammar Coach
Improve Your Writing
Origin of perfunctory
OTHER WORDS FROM perfunctory
per·func·to·ri·ly, adverbper·func·to·ri·ness, nounWords nearby perfunctory
performing arts, perf. part., perfume, perfumer, perfumery, perfunctory, perfusate, perfuse, perfusion, Pergamum, pergelisol
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for perfunctory
British Dictionary definitions for perfunctory
perfunctory
/ (pəˈfʌŋktərɪ) /
adjective
done superficially, only as a matter of routine; careless or cursory
dull or indifferent
Derived forms of perfunctory
perfunctorily, adverbperfunctoriness, nounWord Origin for perfunctory
C16: from Late Latin perfunctōrius negligent, from perfunctus dispatched, from perfungī to fulfil; see function
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