Dictionary

perfunctory en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /pɚˈfʌŋk.tɚ.i/ (US)
• /pəˈfʌŋk.t(ə)ɹɪ/ (UK)

Etymology

From Late Latin perfunctōrius (“careless, negligent”), from the past participial stem of perfungor, perfunct- (“perform, carry through”), from per- + fungor.

Meanings

1. Done only or merely to conform to a minimal standard or to fulfill a protocol or presumptive duty.
   • a perfunctory kiss
   • Even as former administration officials and Democratic leaders called on the president to tell his supporters to “go home,” Mr. Trump for hours did little to discourage them from storming the building. Instead, he issued two perfunctory tweets in which he asked them merely to remain “peaceful.” 2021 January 6, Luke Broadwater, Emily Cochrane, Matt Stevens, “Congress Rejects Republican Challenge to Pennsylvania Electors, After Day of Chaos”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • He then poured some wine for me to taste, and harassed me with perfunctory courtesies that had to be acknowledged. 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 338:
   • The second section of the episode charged from Winterfell to Highgarden and Oldtown in a way that felt perfunctory. I found myself asking, “We’re just getting to Winterfell?” 2017 July 30, Ali Barthwell, “Ice and fire finally meet in a front-loaded episode of Game Of Thrones (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club:
   • I caught the gist of what he was saying--which in effect was that he had found and captured this Galu, that she was his and that he defied anyone to question his right of possession. It appeared to me, as I afterward learned was the fact, that I was witnessing the most primitive of marriage ceremonies. The assembled members of the tribe looked on and listened in a sort of dull and perfunctory apathy, for the speaker was by far the mightiest of the clan. 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter VIII, in The Land That Time Forgot:
2. Performed in a careless or indifferent manner as a thing of rote.
   • He did a perfunctory job cleaning his dad's car, finishing quickly but leaving a few spots still dirty.
   • Alternatively it may mean that a perfunctory search is enough to ensure that a purchase is acceptable, so less search is carried out. 1992, Peter Bowbrick, The Economics of Quality, Grades, and Brands, page 55:

Forms

Antonyms

complete · thorough · careful

Deriveds

perfunctoriness · perfunctorily · nonperfunctory

Relateds

pro forma

Synonyms

pro forma · haphazard · unthinking · slipshod · automatic · obligatory · token · mechanical · cursory

Translations (77)

es maquinal (performed out of routine, with little care) · fr négligeant (performed out of routine, with little care) · nl werktuiglijk (performed out of routine, with little care) · ga sleamchúiseach (performed out of routine, with little care) · hu hanyag (performed out of routine, with little care) · es superficial (performed out of routine, with little care) · ro superficial (performed out of routine, with little care) · ru форма́льный (performed out of routine, with little care) · da skødesløs (performed out of routine, with little care) · ja 御座成の (performed out of routine, with little care) · pt perfunctório (performed out of routine, with little care) · cmn 敷衍 (performed out of routine, with little care) · pl powierzchowny (performed out of routine, with little care) · sh махиналан (performed out of routine, with little care) · es rutinario (performed out of routine, with little care) · ru машина́льный (performed out of routine, with little care) · de oberflächlich (performed out of routine, with little care) · uk поверхневий (performed out of routine, with little care) · de maschinell (performed out of routine, with little care) · de der Form halber (performed out of routine, with little care) · bg повърхностен (performed out of routine, with little care) · fr détaché (performed out of routine, with little care) · ru пове́рхностный (performed out of routine, with little care) · cs formální (performed out of routine, with little care) · de flüchtig (performed out of routine, with little care) · yi אויבנאויפֿיק (performed out of routine, with little care) · sv vana (performed out of routine, with little care) · ru небре́жный (performed out of routine, with little care) · uk формальний (performed out of routine, with little care) · bg небрежен (performed out of routine, with little care) · de formell (performed out of routine, with little care) · el διεκπεραιωτικός (performed out of routine, with little care) · eo supraĵa (performed out of routine, with little care) · nl routineus (performed out of routine, with little care) · fi pintapuolinen (performed out of routine, with little care) · de routinemäßig (performed out of routine, with little care) · sh mahinalan (performed out of routine, with little care) · cs povrchní (performed out of routine, with little care) · es somero (performed out of routine, with little care) · sh makinalan (performed out of routine, with little care) · nl (louter) plichtmatig (performed out of routine, with little care) · fr pour la forme (performed out of routine, with little care) · es perfunctorio (performed out of routine, with little care) · cmn 不痛不癢 /不痛不痒 (performed out of routine, with little care) · de nachlässig (performed out of routine, with little care) · ro cu neglijenââ (performed out of routine, with little care) · uk машинальний (performed out of routine, with little care) · fr sommaire (performed out of routine, with little care) · pl pobieżny (performed out of routine, with little care) · vi đại khái (performed out of routine, with little care) · sv invand (performed out of routine, with little care) · ga neamhaireach (performed out of routine, with little care) · uk недбалий (performed out of routine, with little care) · cs letmý (performed out of routine, with little care) · da overfladisk (performed out of routine, with little care) · nl machinaal (performed out of routine, with little care) · hu futó (performed out of routine, with little care) · fr bâclé (performed out of routine, with little care) · vi hời hợt (performed out of routine, with little care) · fr superficiel (performed out of routine, with little care) · cs zběžný (performed out of routine, with little care) · cs ledabylý (performed out of routine, with little care) · it sbrigativo (performed out of routine, with little care) · it superficiale (performed out of routine, with little care) · hu felületes (performed out of routine, with little care) · sh макиналан (performed out of routine, with little care) · ca perfuntori (performed out of routine, with little care) · cmn 含糊 (performed out of routine, with little care) · eo indiferenta (performed out of routine, with little care) · de pro forma (performed out of routine, with little care) · ro cu superficialitate (performed out of routine, with little care) · vi qua loa (performed out of routine, with little care) · ca descurat (performed out of routine, with little care) · fr de pure forme (performed out of routine, with little care) · sv slentrianmässig (performed out of routine, with little care) · fi puolihuolimaton (performed out of routine, with little care) · fi rutiininomainen (performed out of routine, with little care)