noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/pəˈɹuːzl̩/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -uːzəl
CMU ARPABET:P ER0 UW1 Z AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The act or process of perusing, or an instance of it.
Studying something carefully; a careful study.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
Please find attached the relevant documents for your perusal.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The act or process of perusing, or an instance of it.
Giving something a cursory scan; a cursory scan.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
reading carefully with intent to remember
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: perusing, poring over, studying
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: reading
History
Etymology
From peruse + -al.
Across languages
Translations
18 source translations are retained for this English entry.