adj Done just to satisfy a basic requirement, without real care or effort.
- Alternatively it may mean that a perfunctory search is enough to ensure that a purchase is acceptable, so less search is carried out.
— Peter Bowbrick, The Economics of Quality (1992)
- He did a perfunctory job cleaning his dad's car, finishing quickly but leaving a few spots still dirty.
- The second section of the episode charged from Winterfell to Highgarden and Oldtown in a way that felt perfunctory. I found myself asking, “We’re just getting to Winterfell?
— Ali Barthwell, Ice and fire finally meet in a front-loaded episode of Game Of Thrones (newbies) (2017)
