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
But the show’s engagement with this material now often feels perfunctory, more interested in displaying cleverness or swagger than in advancing character.
—
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
In the book’s introduction, Kaplan does a bit of perfunctory hand-wringing about the state of the country, arguing that Decca is a model for how to generate empathy in a time of polarization.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
However, despite a 2021 Caltrans policy essentially mandating pedestrian, bike and transit elements in every project that’s not a freeway, those changes can be perfunctory or even nonexistent.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 13 Nov. 2025
Many felt Thibodeau, who was the Knicks' head coach for the previous five seasons, was stuck in the NBA of the 1990s with his slowdown offense and refusal to give bench players more than a perfunctory amount of playing time.
—Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perfunctory
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
In the book’s introduction, Kaplan does a bit of perfunctory hand-wringing about the state of the country, arguing that Decca is a model for how to generate empathy in a time of polarization.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
However, despite a 2021 Caltrans policy essentially mandating pedestrian, bike and transit elements in every project that’s not a freeway, those changes can be perfunctory or even nonexistent.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 13 Nov. 2025
Many felt Thibodeau, who was the Knicks' head coach for the previous five seasons, was stuck in the NBA of the 1990s with his slowdown offense and refusal to give bench players more than a perfunctory amount of playing time.
—Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perfunctory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perfunctory
Adjective
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Her nonchalant, soft-glam is so perfectly mesmerizing, my TikTok and social media feeds are flooded with tutorials trying to re-create her signature style.—
Kaitlin Clapinski,
InStyle,
8 Jan. 2026
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One fictional and the other real, the drug lords look nonchalant.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Last week, former Marni creative director Francesco Risso was appointed creative director of casual wear brand GU, which is owned by Uniqlo’s Japanese parent company Fast Retailing.—
Maliha Shoaib,
Vogue,
13 Jan. 2026
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Bagail 8-piece Packing Cube Set While dress codes during the day skew casual on board a ship, passengers do like to dress up at night, which means the pressure is on to pull together a classy outfit that’s not on repeat.—
Kristine Hansen,
Travel + Leisure,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perfunctory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perfunctory. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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