Meaning & use
perusal
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Meaning
noununcountableformal
The act of reading or looking over something, usually with attention, in order to understand or judge it.
Grammar: Usually uncountable, often in the phrase for your perusal or on perusal.
Patterns
- for your perusal
- on perusal
- a perusal of something
The contract is enclosed for your perusal.
On perusal of the report, the committee found several errors.
A quick perusal of the menu told her there was nothing vegetarian.
Common combinations
- for your perusal
- I have attached the draft for your perusal.
- on perusal
- On perusal, the letter seemed less friendly than expected.
- careful perusal
- The documents deserve careful perusal.
- a brief perusal
- A brief perusal of the shelves showed no novels.
- a perusal of the evidence
- A perusal of the evidence changed her mind.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reading
- Reading is the plain everyday word, whereas perusal sounds formal and stresses a look at something to examine it.
- examination
- Examination suggests detailed checking of anything, not just written material.
- scan
- Scan implies a fast, light look, whereas perusal traditionally suggests more care, though speakers sometimes use it loosely.
Word family
Commonly confused: perusal or pursual?
perusal vs pursual
Pursual is a rare misspelling or confusion with pursuit; perusal is about reading.
Practice
The lawyer sent the agreement to her client ___ before the meeting.
Choose one answer.
The set phrase is for someone's perusal, meaning for them to read. The other options use prepositions that do not make a natural phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “perusal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.