Meaning & use
peruse
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To read or examine something carefully and thoroughly.
Grammar: Takes an object: peruse the report; traditional formal use implies careful attention, not a quick glance.
Patterns
- peruse a document
- peruse the details
- peruse something carefully
Please peruse the contract before signing.
She perused the menu from top to bottom.
The lawyer perused every clause in the agreement.
verbtransitiveinformal
To look through or read something casually and without deep attention.
Grammar: Also takes an object: peruse a magazine; this newer informal use can contradict the traditional careful sense.
Patterns
- peruse a magazine
- peruse the shelves
- peruse a website
He perused a magazine while waiting.
We perused the shelves for a gift.
She spent an hour perusing travel websites.
Word forms
| third person singular | peruses |
|---|---|
| past tense | perused |
| past participle | perused |
| -ing form | perusing |
Common combinations
- peruse carefully
- Peruse the terms carefully before you agree.
- peruse a report
- Managers perused the quarterly report.
- peruse the options
- We perused the options online.
- briefly peruse
- He briefly perused the notes before class.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scrutinize
- Scrutinize suggests very close inspection; peruse in its traditional sense is thorough reading.
- browse
- Browse fits the casual sense, but it lacks the older careful meaning of peruse.
- scan
- Scan often means quick reading for specific information, closer to casual perusing than careful reading.
Word family
- perusal noun
- The act of reading or examining something.
Commonly confused: peruse or pursue?
peruse vs pursue
Pursue means to chase or follow a goal; peruse means to read or look through.
Practice
In formal writing, “peruse the manual” tells the reader to ______.
Choose one answer.
The traditional formal sense is careful reading; the distractors are actions that do not match read or examine.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “peruse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.