Fungible vs Perfunctory - What's the difference?
fungible | perfunctory |
(finance, and, commerce) Able to be substituted for something of equal value or utility; interchangeable, exchangeable, replaceable.
* 1876 [1877], , Silver and Gold and Their Relation to the Problem of Resumption ,
* 2011 , Will Self, “The frowniest spot on Earth”, London Review of Books , XXXIII.9:
Done merely to discharge a duty; performed mechanically and as a thing of rote; done in a careless and superficial manner; characterized by indifference; as, perfunctory admonitions; aspiring only to minimum standards.
* 1918 , (Edgar Rice Burroughs), Chapter VIII
* 1992 , Peter Bowbrick, The Economics of Quality, Grades, and Brands ,
As adjectives the difference between fungible and perfunctory
is that fungible is (finance|and|commerce) able to be substituted for something of equal value or utility; interchangeable, exchangeable, replaceable while perfunctory is done merely to discharge a duty; performed mechanically and as a thing of rote; done in a careless and superficial manner; characterized by indifference; as, perfunctory admonitions; aspiring only to minimum standards.As a noun fungible
is (chiefly|in the plural) any fungible item.fungible
English
(Fungibility)Adjective
(en adjective)page 116:
- Gold is fungible'. Silver is ' fungible ; that is, these metals are both so homogeneous that, if I get a pound of pure gold, for example, it is indifferent to me whether it be this pound or that pound, one is as good as another
- At the core of Kasarda’s conception of the aerotropolis lies the notion that space – unlike time – is fungible .
Derived terms
* (l)References
perfunctory
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- He did a perfunctory job cleaning his dad's car, finishing quickly but leaving a few spots still dirty.
- I caught the gist of what he was saying--which in effect was that he had found and captured this Galu, that she was his and that he defied anyone to question his right of possession. It appeared to me, as I afterward learned was the fact, that I was witnessing the most primitive of marriage ceremonies. The assembled members of the tribe looked on and listened in a sort of dull and perfunctory apathy, for the speaker was by far the mightiest of the clan.
p. 55,
- Alternatively it may mean that a perfunctory search is enough to ensure that a purchase is acceptable, so less search is carried out.