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perfunctory

American  
[per-fuhngk-tuh-ree] / pərˈfʌŋk tə ri /

adjective

  1. performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial.

    perfunctory courtesy.
    Synonyms:
    uninterested, thoughtless, heedless, negligent
    Antonyms:
    diligent, careful

  2. 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
    Antonyms:
    diligent, careful
perfunctory British  
/ pəˈfʌŋktərɪ /

adjective

  1. done superficially, only as a matter of routine; careless or cursory

  2. dull or indifferent

"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

  • perfunctorily adverb
  • perfunctoriness noun

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

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.