through the motions

1. see go through the motions.

Example Sentences

Megan was kind though to not make the sting of the split worse by going through the motions of the wedding day just to say no.

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You’ve been going through the motions in life, but that’s when it gets very real.

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“It helps to go through the motions; even though she’s not here I still love her just as much as I did when she was.”

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“I trust these guys. They want to win and they’re upset that we lost. And we have a choice — we can emotionally, mentally check out and just kind of go through the motions or we can dig down. And I know these guys are going to dig down.”

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Katharine Coldiron, author of Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter, says it's better to watch a film-maker like Wiseau try hard and fall short, rather than someone going through the motions.

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