Perfunctory    (pronounced per-fungk-tuh-ree) adjective


Definition

1. done as a matter of routine with little or no care; superficial; automatic or robotic.    2. lacking interest or concern; unenthusiastic; indifferent.


Other Forms

Perfunctorily   (pronounced per-fungk-tuh-ruh-lee) adverb

Perfunctoriness   (pronounced per-fungk-tuh-ree-nes) noun

Main Example

  • After combing through nearly 20 volumes of classified material, a House committee headed by Republican Porter Goss, himself a former CIA agent, has criticized the U.S. intelligence community for being perfunctory when it concluded that Iraq had WMDs and ties to al-Qaeda. The committee charges that intelligence organizations relied on information that was outdated, "circumstantial," and "fragmentary," and their informants in Iraq lacked credibility.

    Workplace Examples

  • No one seemed to be interested in the topic, so the questions and comments that followed my presentation were superficial and perfunctory.

  • For years, our planning cell was regarded as a perfunctory part of the corporate office, much like the janitorial staff. However, thanks to the new CEO, we're now getting our fair share of visibility and respect.

    Other Examples

  • a call center manager telling the employees: "When you greet a customer, you must be warm and sincere! Right now, your greetings are much too perfunctory."

  • a meeting or an applause that is short and perfunctory; a study that has a perfunctory quality and barely scratches the surface

  • somebody endorsing your plan, but only perfunctorily

  • the tragic collision in 2001 between the U.S.S. Greeneville and a Japanese trawler which resulted from the submarine captain's perfunctoriness during a rapid-surfacing drill: according to investigators, the captain rushed the periscope sweeps and failed to look long enough or high enough

    © 2003 V.J. Singal

    This Month's Other Words

    Equanimity
    Idolatry and Idolatrous
    Galvanic and Galvanize
    Unalloyed
    Insular
    Excoriate
    Realpolitik

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