Word
cursory
Phoneticscur·so·ry
US/ˈkɝsɝi/
UK/kˈɜːsəɹˌi/
Definition
adj. a quick look or check that is not very careful. You use this when you want to say someone only looked at something for a short time.
adj. brief or superficial in nature; lacking in depth or detail. Often used to describe a quick inspection or a brief examination.
Examples
“He gave the report only a cursory glance before signing it.”
“The manager performed a cursory inspection of the safety equipment before the meeting started.”
“The committee's cursory review of the financial statements failed to uncover the significant discrepancies that would later lead to the company's collapse.”
Examples
simple
“He gave the report only a cursory glance before signing it.”
contextual
“The manager performed a cursory inspection of the safety equipment before the meeting started.”
complex
“The committee's cursory review of the financial statements failed to uncover the significant discrepancies that would later lead to the company's collapse.”
Real-World Examples
“Even a cursory search through my bibliography of dance manuals confirms this to be true: foxtrot was by far the most commonly-described dance form from the late 1910s to the late 1950s.” “Photograph: Claudio Thoma/EPA Even the most cursory of inquiries over the past few weeks vindicated Uefa’s concerns.” Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French cursoire (“rapid”), from Latin cursorius (“hasty, of a race or running”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/cursory