cursory
cur·so·ry/ˈkɝː.sə.ɹi/adjective
cursory is spelled C-U-R-S-O-R-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables (cur·so·ry). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, cursory means “Hasty or superficial” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cursory?
| Letters | 7: C-U-R-S-O-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: cur·so·ry |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cursory?
Cursory appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cursory?
- UK /ˈkɜː.sə.ɹi/
- UK /ˈkɜːs.ɹi/
- US /ˈkɝː.sə.ɹi/
Cursory has 3 syllables, split cur·so·ry in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-cursory.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with cursory?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as cursory from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹsəɹi/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cursory
- more cursory comparative
- most cursory superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cursory mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Hasty or superficial.
cursory glance
- 2
Careless or desultory.
The cursory inspection missed several irregularities.
- 3
obsoleteRunning about; not stationary.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cursory in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense hasty, superficial:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rapide, superficiel |
| German | oberflächlich, flüchtig |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cursory come from?
Borrowed from Middle French cursoire (“rapid”), from Latin cursorius (“hasty, of a race or running”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).