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peruse

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To peruse is defined as to read something carefully.

(verb)

An example of peruse is to read through the classified ads in a newspaper.

See peruse in Webster's New World College Dictionary

transitive verb perused, perusing

Obsolete to examine in detail; scrutinize
to read carefully or thoroughly; study
to read in a casual or leisurely way

Origin: LME perusen, to use up, prob. < L per-, intens. + ME usen, to use

Related Forms:

peruser noun

See peruse in American Heritage Dictionary 4

transitive verb pe·rused, pe·rus·ing, pe·rus·es

To read or examine, typically with great care.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English perusen, to use up

Origin: : Latin per-, per-

Origin: + Middle English usen, to use; see use

Related Forms:

pe·rusˈa·ble adjective

pe·rusˈal noun

pe·rusˈer noun

Usage Note: Peruse has long meant “to read thoroughly” and is often used loosely when one could use the word read instead, as in The librarians checked to see which titles had been perused in the last month and which been left untouched. Seventy percent of the Usage Panel rejected this example in our 1999 survey. Sometimes people use it to mean “to glance over, skim,” as in I only had a moment to peruse the manual quickly, but this usage is widely considered an error. In a 1988 survey, 66 percent of the Panel found it unacceptable, and in 1999, 58 percent still rejected it.

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