Word of the Day

: August 2, 2008

cursory

adjective KER-suh-ree

What It Means

: rapidly and often superficially performed or produced : hasty

cursory in Context

A cursory reading of the syllabus made it clear that Professor Leary's sociology class was not going to be as easy as we had anticipated.

Did You Know?

"Cursory" and its synonyms "superficial" and "shallow" all mean "lacking in depth or solidity" -- but these words are not used in exactly the same way in all cases. "Cursory," which comes from the Latin verb "currere" ("to run"), implies speed and stresses a lack of attention to detail. While "cursory" suggests a lack of thoroughness, "superficial" implies a concern only with surface aspects or obvious features. An analysis of a problem might be labeled "superficial" if it considers only the obvious and fails to dig deeper into the issue. "Shallow" is more generally derogatory in implying lack of depth in knowledge, reasoning, emotions, or character, as in "insensitive and shallow comments."