Perfunctory vs Random - What's the difference?
perfunctory | random | Related terms |
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 ,
A roving motion; course without definite direction; lack of rule or method; chance.
* (1591-1674)
*:Counsels, when they fly / At random , sometimes hit most happily.
*Sir (Walter Scott) (1771-1832)
*:O, many a shaft, at random sent, / Finds mark the archer little meant!
(label) Speed, full speed; impetuosity, force.
*:
*:they were messagers vnto kyng Ban & Bors sent from kynge Arthur / therfor said the viij knyghtes ye shalle dye or be prysoners / for we ben knyghtes of kyng Claudas And therwith two of them dressid theire sperys / and Vlfyus and Brastias dressid theire speres and ranne to gyder with grete raundon
*(Edward Hall) (1497-1547)
*:For courageously the two kings newly fought with great random and force.
*1624 , John Smith, Generall Historie , in Kupperman 1988, page 144:
*:Fortie yards will they shoot levell, or very neare the marke, and 120 is their best at Random .
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(label) The direction of a rake-vein.
:(Raymond)
Having unpredictable outcomes and, in the ideal case, all outcomes equally probable; resulting from such selection; lacking statistical correlation.
* July 18 2012 , Scott Tobias, AV Club The Dark Knight Rises [http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-dark-knight-rises-review-batman,82624/]
(mathematics) Of or relating to probability distribution.
(computing) Pseudorandom; mimicking the result of random selection.
(somewhat colloquial) Representative and undistinguished; typical and average; selected for no particular reason.
(somewhat colloquial) Apropos of nothing; lacking context; unexpected; having apparent lack of plan, cause or reason.
(colloquial) Characterized by or often saying random things; habitually using non sequiturs.
Perfunctory is a related term of random.
As adjectives the difference between perfunctory and random
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 random is having unpredictable outcomes and, in the ideal case, all outcomes equally probable; resulting from such selection; lacking statistical correlation.As a noun random is
a roving motion; course without definite direction; lack of rule or method; chance.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 formarandom
English
Noun
(en noun)Synonyms
* force, momentum, speed, velocity * (unimportant person) nobody, nonentityAdjective
(en adjective)- The flip of a fair coin is purely random .
- The newspaper conducted a random sample of five hundred American teenagers.
- The results of the field survey look random by several different measures.
- Where the Joker preys on our fears of random , irrational acts of terror, Bane has an all-consuming, dictatorial agenda that’s more stable and permanent, a New World Order that’s been planned out with the precision of a military coup.
- A toss of loaded dice is still random , though biased.
- The rand function generates a random number from a seed.
- A random American off the street couldn't tell the difference.
- That was a completely random comment.
- The teacher's bartending story was interesting, but random .
- The narrative takes a random course.
- You're so random !