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- go through the motions
go through the motions
go through the motions
Fig. to make a feeble effort to do something; to do something insincerely or in cursory fashion. Jane isn't doing her best. She's just going through the motions. Bill was supposed to be raking the yard, but he was just going through the motions.
go through the motions
to do something without believing it is important After his wife died, he went through the motions of living, without feeling much of anything.
go through the motions
to do something because you are expected to do it and not because you want to (often in continuous tenses) These days when we go out, cook a meal together or even make love, I get the feeling that he's just going through the motions.
go through the motions
Do something perfunctorily, or merely pretend to do it. For example, The team is so far behind that they're just going through the motions, or She didn't really grieve at his death; she just went through the motions. [c. 1800]
go through the motions
To do something in a mechanical manner indicative of a lack of interest or involvement.