perfunctory
/pɚˈfʌŋk.tɚ.i/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.45 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Done only or merely to conform to a minimal standard or to fulfill a protocol or presumptive duty.
Example Sentences
- "a perfunctory kiss"
- "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."
- "He then poured some wine for me to taste, and harassed me with perfunctory courtesies that had to be acknowledged."
- "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?”"
- "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.”"
- "He did a perfunctory job cleaning his dad's car, finishing quickly but leaving a few spots still dirty."
Etymology
From Late Latin perfunctōrius (“careless, negligent”), from the past participial stem of perfungor, perfunct- (“perform, carry through”), from per- + fungor.
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰewg-, perfunctōrius
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /pɚˈfʌŋk.tɚ.i/
- British English: /pəˈfʌŋk.t(ə)ɹɪ/
Inflected Forms
more perfunctory (comparative)
most perfunctory (superlative)