• Although the Department went through the motions of investigating complaints, its commitment to enforcing the corporal punishment regulations was half-hearted at best.
• The existential vacuum is the phenemenon which envelops those who go through the motions without feeling any passion or connection to their accomplishments.
• It amazes me how often we find ourselves inadvertently going through the motions of achieving things, doing everything we know we're supposed or told to do, but eventually not reaching the finish line, or reaching it a bit too late.

Synonyms

• He went through the motions of pretending to write out a ticket for the benefit of the other full price passengers.
• The media initially went through the motions of pretending that this was a real election campaign.
• I was going through the motions, faking the emotions, wriggling around like a lizard on a tin.