Perfunctory means doing something in a rushed, careless way just to get it over with, without any real effort or interest. When you do something perfunctorily, you're just going through the motions.

Imagine cleaning your room in a perfunctory way: you shove everything under the bed, stuff clothes in drawers without folding them, and call it done. You technically cleaned, but anyone can tell you didn't really care about doing it well. Or think about a perfunctory apology: someone mutters “sorry” without looking up, clearly not meaning it. They said the word, but the feeling behind it is missing.

The word often describes tasks people do because they have to, not because they want to. A clerk might give customers a perfunctory greeting, barely looking up as they mumble “Welcome.” A student might write a perfunctory book report, meeting the minimum requirements but showing no real engagement with the story.

When teachers or parents can tell you've done something perfunctorily, they know you were capable of better but didn't try.