perfunctory
/pɚˈfʌŋk.tɚ.i/adjective
perfunctory is spelled P-E-R-F-U-N-C-T-O-R-Y: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, perfunctory means “Done only or merely to conform to a minimal standard or to fulfill a protocol or presumptive duty” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in perfunctory?
| Letters | 11: P-E-R-F-U-N-C-T-O-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,108th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is perfunctory?
Perfunctory appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th 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 perfunctory?
- UK /pəˈfʌŋk.t(ə)ɹɪ/
- US /pɚˈfʌŋk.tɚ.i/
Perfunctory has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-perfunctory.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of perfunctory
- more perfunctory comparative
- most perfunctory superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does perfunctory mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Done only or merely to conform to a minimal standard or to fulfill a protocol or presumptive duty.
a perfunctory kiss
- 2
Performed in a careless or indifferent manner as a thing of rote.
He did a perfunctory job cleaning his dad's car, finishing quickly but leaving a few spots still dirty.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Perfunctory in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense performed out of routine, with little care:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sommaire, superficiel, négligeant, pour la forme, de pure forme, détaché |
| German | flüchtig, maschinell, oberflächlich, der Form halber, formell, pro forma |
| Portuguese | perfunctório |
| Spanish | superficial, perfunctorio, rutinario, somero, maquinal |
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 perfunctory come from?
From Late Latin perfunctōrius (“careless, negligent”), from the past participial stem of perfungor, perfunct- (“perform, carry through”), from per- + fungor.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).