vocabulary - On the duplicity of "peruse"

The following are the two main definitions of the verb peruse that the editors at Merriam-Webster.com have put forward:

: to look at or read (something) in an informal or relaxed way

: to examine or read (something) in a very careful way

In my humble opinion, those two acceptations of the said verb contradict each other. Wonder what on Earth is going on here; it's like saying "peruse is A" and "peruse is not A".

Why did the more modern-day definition make it to the top of a page in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary?

Comments

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