cursory

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French cursoire (“rapid”), from Latin cursorius (“hasty, of a race or running”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɜː.sə.ɹi/, /ˈkɜːs.ɹi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɝː.sə.ɹi/, /ˈkɝːs.ɹi/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈkɵː.sɘ.ɹi/, /ˈkɵːs.ɹi/
• Hyphenation: cur‧so‧ry, curs‧ory

Adjective

cursory (comparative more cursory, superlative most cursory)

1. Hasty or superficial.

   Synonyms: fleeting, swift; see also Thesaurus:speedy

   cursory glance

   Most junk mail requires only a cursory glance.

   • 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter I, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 53:

     But the cursory glance my father had taken of my volume by no means assured me that he was acquainted with its contents, and I continued to read with the greatest avidity.

   • 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC:

     She accepted these terms, and slid off on the near side, though not till he had stolen a cursory kiss.

   • 1913 January–May, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Gods of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as The Gods of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., 1918 September, →OCLC:

     I may say that that single cursory examination of this awful travesty on Nature would have proved quite sufficient to my desires had I been a free agent.

2. Careless or desultory.

   Synonyms: unmethodical, negligent; see also Thesaurus:careless

   The cursory inspection missed several irregularities.

3. (obsolete) Running about; not stationary.

   Synonyms: dynamic, mobile; see also Thesaurus:in motion

Derived terms

• cursorily
• cursoriness

Related terms

• cursor
• course

Translations

hasty, superficial, careless

• Bulgarian: бегъл (bg) (begǎl), повърхностен (bg) (povǎrhnosten)
• Czech: zběžný
• Danish: kursorisk, overfladisk
• Dutch: haastig (nl), oppervlakkig (nl), vluchtig (nl)
• Finnish: pintapuolinen, pikainen (fi), kursorinen (fi)
• French: rapide (fr), superficiel (fr),
• German: oberflächlich (de), flüchtig (de)
• Italian: rapido (it) m, distratto (it) m, sbrigativo (it) m
• Persian: سرسری (fa) (sarsari)
• Polish: pobieżny (pl)
• Russian: бе́глый (ru) m (béglyj), пове́рхностный (ru) m (povérxnostnyj)
• Spanish: rápido (es), superficial (es)
• Swedish: hastig (sv), flyktig (sv), ytlig (sv)
• Yiddish: אויבנאויפֿיק (oybnoyfik)

See also

• perfunctory