Perfunctory vs Ostensible - What's the difference?
perfunctory | ostensible |
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 ,
Apparent, evident; meant for open display.
* 1956–1960 , (second edition, 1960), chapter ii: “Motives and Motivation”, page 32:
* '>citation
Appearing as such; being such in appearance; professed, supposed (rather than demonstrably true or real).
As adjectives the difference between perfunctory and ostensible
is that 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 while ostensible is apparent, evident; meant for open display.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.
Synonyms
* (performed out of routine) automatic, cursory, dutiful, mechanical, obligatory, slipshod, token, unthinkingAntonyms
* thoughtfulSee also
* pro formaostensible
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- Motives, of course, may be mixed; but this only means that a man aims at a variety of goals by means of the same course of action. Similarly a man may have a strong motive or a weak one, an ulterior motive or an ostensible one.
- In witch-trials the conflict was officially defined as between the accused and God, or between the accused and the Catholic (later Protestant) church, as God's earthly representative. [...]
Behind the ostensible conflict of the witch-trial lay the usual conflicts of social class, values, and human relationships.
- The ostensible reason for his visit to New York was to see his mother, but the real reason was to get to the Yankees game the next day.