perfunctory

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

What surprised me at the time was how homogeneous board discussions and decisions were, with votes often being unanimous and seemingly perfunctory.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

As I visited congressional offices this week, meeting with sources and watching members of Congress interact with their constituents, it felt perfunctory — and, in some cases, sad.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

Right there, you have the perfect shadow-docket sandwich: perfunctory, bad decisionmaking, conclusory predictions about what constitutes an “emergency” and who’s going to win, decided in a couple of days, wiping out extensive factual findings.

From Slate • Jan. 3, 2026

Fifteen minutes after Celtic issued the news of Brendan Rodgers' shock resignation via a perfunctory five-paragraph, 134-word statement, the howitzer landed, courtesy of Dermot Desmond, with whiskers twitching in apparent fury.

From BBC • Oct. 27, 2025

The guys were pretty silent except for perfunctory replies to Isabelle’s string of inane chatter about which sorority she wanted to join.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon