perfunctory

Etymology

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

adj

  1. Done only or merely to conform to a minimal standard or to fulfill a protocol or presumptive duty.
    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
    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?” July 30, 2017, Ali Barthwell, “Ice and fire finally meet in a front-loaded episode of Game Of Thrones (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club
    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.” 2021-01-06, Luke Broadwater, Emily Cochrane, Matt Stevens, “Congress Rejects Republican Challenge to Pennsylvania Electors, After Day of Chaos”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  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

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/perfunctory), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.