as in nonchalant
having or showing a lack of interest or concern
the violinist delivered a perfunctory performance that displayed none of the passion and warmth he was once known for
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Recent Examples of perfunctory
The offstage material is pleasant but mostly perfunctory.
—
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 7 May 2026
What got centered were the perfunctory tasks government defaults to when everyone is stretched thin — checking the legal and regulatory boxes for approval, designing detour protocols, posting the orange signs in the right places and marking the lane closures clearly.
—Andrew Chrismer, Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026
From then on, the storytelling goes slack and perfunctory as sharks swarm and chomp on passengers and crew clinging for dear lives on rafts or slabs of plane wreckage.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2026
LaToya Jackson answers my questions in a polite but perfunctory monotone.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for perfunctory
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 7 May 2026
What got centered were the perfunctory tasks government defaults to when everyone is stretched thin — checking the legal and regulatory boxes for approval, designing detour protocols, posting the orange signs in the right places and marking the lane closures clearly.
—Andrew Chrismer, Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026
From then on, the storytelling goes slack and perfunctory as sharks swarm and chomp on passengers and crew clinging for dear lives on rafts or slabs of plane wreckage.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2026
LaToya Jackson answers my questions in a polite but perfunctory monotone.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for perfunctory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perfunctory
Adjective
-
This nonchalant maneuver enables Jefferson to extol America as the seat and refuge of liberty over and against the contradictions of the hour.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 June 2026
-
Behind the black shades, the 22-year-old looked like a mirror image of her mom, channeling Paltrow's signature nonchalant pose.—
Chanel Vargas,
InStyle,
5 June 2026
Adjective
-
Seventeen food and beverage options include beachside food trucks for casual family meals.—
Beth Luberecki,
USA Today,
16 June 2026
-
Pasjoli is his more casual French neighborhood bistro.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perfunctory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perfunctory. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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