Slapdash vs Perfunctory - What's the difference?
slapdash | perfunctory |
Done hastily; haphazard; careless.
* 2014 , A teacher, "
In a hasty or careless manner.
Directly, right there; slap-bang.
With a slap; all at once; slap.
(colloquial) To apply, or apply something to, in a hasty, careless, or rough manner; to roughcast.
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 slapdash and perfunctory
is that slapdash is done hastily; haphazard; careless 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 an adverb slapdash
is in a hasty or careless manner.As a verb slapdash
is (colloquial) to apply, or apply something to, in a hasty, careless, or rough manner; to roughcast.slapdash
English
Adjective
(en adjective)Choosing a primary school: a teacher's guide for parents", The Guardian , 23 September 2014:
- When you're in the front entrance, get a feel for what's going on. Tours are never timed to coincide with breaks but if there are any children milling about, see what they're up to. If they're on a dutiful errand, for example delivering registers, the school probably encourages a responsible attitude. If they're play-fighting in the corridor without consequence, it tells a less impressive story and could mean a slapdash approach to discipline.
Synonyms
* See alsoAdverb
(en adverb)- Van Eyck signed his portrait of the Arnolfinis slapdash in the center of the painting.
- (Prior)
Synonyms
* (in a hasty manner): carelessly, haphazardly, hastily * (directly): directlyVerb
- to slapdash mortar or paint on a wall
- to slapdash a wall
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.