Literary notes about Perfunctory (AI summary)
In literature, "perfunctory" is commonly used to portray actions or behaviors performed with minimal care or genuine interest, almost as if going through the motions. Authors often depict routine tasks—from note-taking to social gestures—as curt or devoid of real feeling, suggesting that these acts are executed more out of obligation than any heartfelt engagement [1][2]. The term is also applied to interactions and institutional processes, highlighting a mechanical or superficial quality, whether in a hurried examination that misses deeper insights, or in gestures that reduce human connection to a formality [3][4]. Overall, "perfunctory" serves as a powerful descriptor to evoke indifference and a lack of depth in both individual character behavior and broader societal practices [5][6].
- His notes were more and more perfunctory, until, at last, they ceased altogether.
— from The Nine-Tenths by James Oppenheim - Constance asked, in a rather perfunctory manner.
— from The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett - As said above, the manner of reciting these parts is more perfunctory, with fewer melodic modulations and phonetic peculiarities.
— from Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Bronislaw Malinowski - 239 Inspections are for the most part perfunctory, and abuses, especially that of power, may flourish freely without detection or interference.
— from Russian Prisons St. Peter and St. Paul; the Schlüsselburg; the Ostrog at Omsk; the story of Siberian exile; Tiumen, Tomsk, Saghalien by Arthur Griffiths - Deliberation will be perfunctory and superficial where there is no interest.
— from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey - From him she had a consideration, not perfunctory, but in the mood of the things they were sharing.
— from The Visioning: A Novel by Susan Glaspell
