casual

[kazh-oo-uhl]

See more synonyms for casual on Thesaurus.com

adjective

happening by chance; fortuitous: a casual meeting.
without definite or serious intention; careless or offhand; passing: a casual remark.
seeming or tending to be indifferent to what is happening; apathetic; unconcerned: a casual, nonchalant air.

without emotional intimacy or commitment: casual sex.
appropriate for wear or use on informal occasions; not dressy: casual clothes; casual wear.
irregular; occasional: a casual visitor.
accidental: a casual mishap.
noting or relating to video games that do not require much skill or time commitment, or noting a player of such games: casual gamers.Compare hard-core(def 6).
Obsolete. uncertain.

noun

a worker employed only irregularly.
a soldier temporarily at a station or other place of duty, and usually en route to another station.
Usually Disparaging. a person who plays video games that do not require much skill or time commitment.

Origin of casual

1325–75; Middle English < Latin cāsuālis, equivalent to cāsu(s) case¹ + -ālis -al¹; replacing Middle English casuel < Middle French < Latin as above

Related formscas·u·al·ly, adverbcas·u·al·ness, nouno·ver·cas·u·al, adjectiveo·ver·cas·u·al·ly, adverbo·ver·cas·u·al·ness, nounul·tra·cas·u·al, adjectiveul·tra·cas·u·al·ly, adverbul·tra·cas·u·al·ness, nounun·cas·u·al, adjectiveun·cas·u·al·ly, adverbun·cas·u·al·ness, noun

Synonyms for casual

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. unexpected, fortuitous, unforeseen. 6. random.

Synonym study

1. See accidental.

Antonyms for casual

1. planned.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for casual

occasional, spontaneous, offhand, easygoing, informal, homey, folksy, laid-back, mellow, cursory, cool, accidental, adventitious, contingent, erratic, extemporaneous, extempore, fluky, fortuitous, impromptu

Examples from the Web for casual

Contemporary Examples of casual

After four or five months of casual interaction, they realized they both had lost a young parent to cancer.
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone
Samantha Levine
January 6, 2015
Oh, the heaven and hell wrought by the casual use of a pronoun.
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside
Samantha Harvey
December 14, 2014
He was not a man given to casual affectionate display; the moment was charged with emotion.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
They “hook up” in a manner that makes the casual sex of the 1960s seem like an arranged marriage in Oman.
Up to a Point: They Made Me Write About Lena Dunham
P. J. O’Rourke
December 13, 2014
We cannot expect to have a casual relationship with heritage.
For Rent: Priceless Historic Sites
Elinor Betesh
November 16, 2014

Historical Examples of casual

Every day I meet men who tell the most wonderful stories in the most casual way.
Ballads of a Bohemian
Robert W. Service
His large voice was modulated to kindliness as he spoke in a casual manner.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
It came in a most casual voice, despite the dancing delight in her face.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
Kingozi's attention, however, now narrowed to a smaller circle than the casual.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
But in her the action was so casual, so absent, that it did not affect me disagreeably.
Questionable Shapes
William Dean Howells

British Dictionary definitions for casual

casual

adjective

happening by accident or chancea casual meeting
offhand; not premeditateda casual remark
shallow or superficiala casual affair
being or seeming unconcerned or apathetiche assumed a casual attitude
(esp of dress) for informal weara casual coat
occasional or irregularcasual visits; a casual labourer
biology another term for adventive

noun

(usually plural) an informal article of clothing or footwear
an occasional worker
biology another term for an adventive
(usually plural) a young man dressed in expensive casual clothes who goes to football matches in order to start fights

Derived Formscasually, adverbcasualness, noun

Word Origin for casual

C14: from Late Latin cāsuālis happening by chance, from Latin cāsus event, from cadere to fall; see case 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for casual

adj.

late 14c., "subject to or produced by chance," from Middle French casuel (15c.), from Late Latin casualis "by chance," from Latin casus "chance, occasion, opportunity; accident, event" (see case (n.1)).

Of persons, in the sense of "not to be depended on, unmethodical," it is attested from 1883; meaning "showing lack of interest" is from 1916. Of clothes, "informal," from 1939. Related: Casually.