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# perusal

«perusal» in Mova's school dictionary: **The act of reading something carefully and thoroughly** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (perusal; usually singular)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (formal) The act of reading something carefully and thoroughly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perusal/#m1)

2) (formal, often in modern use) A quick look through something; reading it casually. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perusal/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

A stiff formal word found in letters and documents: «for your perusal» means «for you to read». In stories it can give an old-fashioned or comic tone. Today, many people use it loosely to mean a quick read, though the older meaning is a careful read.

### examples

- The letter was left on the desk for her perusal. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perusal/#x1)
- After a careful perusal of the map, we found the hidden path. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perusal/#x2)
- «I enclose my homework for your perusal,» wrote Ben, trying to sound grand. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perusal/#x3)
- A quick perusal of the menu showed there was no pizza. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perusal/#x4)
- The teacher's perusal of our stories took all weekend. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perusal/#x5)
- The contract needs a full perusal before anyone signs it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perusal/#x6)
- They were first brought to light, after a patient search and diligent perusal of ancient authors, by a Frenchman, M. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perusal/#x7)

### note

Noun from the verb «peruse» (to read carefully). Usually used with «for your perusal» or «a perusal of». Trap: some people think «peruse» means only «skim quickly»; dictionaries list both, but «read carefully» is the traditional meaning. Formal; everyday word: «read», «look».

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «perusal» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perusal/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.