cursory

play

adjective cur·so·ry \ ˈkərs-rē , ˈkər-sə- \

Definition of cursory

:rapidly and often superficially performed or produced :hasty

a cursory glance

Only a cursory inspection of the building's electrical wiring was done.

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cursorily

play \ˈkərs-rə-lē, ˈkər-sə-\ adverb

—

cursoriness

play \ˈkərs-rē-nəs, ˈkər-sə-\ noun

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Examples of cursory in a Sentence

Only a cursory inspection of the building's electrical wiring was done.
The mayor gave a cursory glance at the report.
Even the most cursory look at the organization's records shows problems.

Recent Examples of cursory from the Web

Weeklies and small dailies only give cursory coverage to content beyond the hyperlocal, such as pro or college sports.

— jr radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Preps Alcove: Six reasons why worries are overblown over Friday night conflict between college and prep football," 28 Aug. 2017
Anyone who did even a cursory Google search would have quickly concluded that giving him a platform was a bad idea.

— elliot kaufman, National Review, "Campus Conservatives Gave the Alt-Right a Platform," 15 Aug. 2017
A cursory examination of the car found no signs of foul play.

— samantha matsumoto, OregonLive.com, "Lottery results: Winning numbers drawn for Lucky Lines, Megabucks and Win for Life," 7 Aug. 2017
Check the Checks Many on-demand businesses do only cursory background checks.

— hannah seligson, Cosmopolitan, "Your Mobile Apps Are More Dangerous Than You Think," 15 July 2017
The lawsuit says detectives conducted a cursory investigation and ignored information Ponyicky offered in her own defense.

— evan macdonald, cleveland.com, "Woman acquitted in Parma rape case says in lawsuit that police 'failed to protect her rights'," 6 July 2017
But even a cursory look at the site reveals that there has been virtually no effort to edit out racism and sexism.

— clio chang, New Republic, "Why Urban Dictionary Is Horrifically Racist," 5 July 2017
The divide Even a cursory glance at the headlines reveals deep fault lines running through our country.

— rabbi dan fink, idahostatesman, "Passionate beliefs, civility can coexist," 30 June 2017
The divide Even a cursory glance at the headlines reveals deep fault lines running through our country.

— rabbi dan fink, idahostatesman, "Passionate beliefs, civility can coexist," 30 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cursory.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

What Is the Difference Between cursory,superficial, and shallow?

Cursory and its synonyms "superficial" and "shallow" all mean "lacking in depth or solidity" - but these words are not used in exactly the same way in all cases. "Cursory," which comes from the Latin verb currere ("to run"), implies speed and stresses a lack of attention to detail. While "cursory" suggests a lack of thoroughness, "superficial" implies a concern only with surface aspects or obvious features. An analysis of a problem might be labeled "superficial" if it considers only the obvious and fails to dig deeper into the issue. "Shallow" is more generally derogatory in implying lack of depth in knowledge, reasoning, emotions, or character, as in "insensitive and shallow comments."