casual
[kazh-oo-uh l]
- 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.
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- 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.
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Origin of casual
Synonyms
See more synonyms for casual on Thesaurus.com1. unexpected, fortuitous, unforeseen. 6. random.
Synonym study
1. See accidental.
Antonyms
1. planned.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for casual
Contemporary Examples
After four or five months of casual interaction, they realized they both had lost a young parent to cancer.
Oh, the heaven and hell wrought by the casual use of a pronoun.
He was not a man given to casual affectionate display; the moment was charged with emotion.
They “hook up” in a manner that makes the casual sex of the 1960s seem like an arranged marriage in Oman.
We cannot expect to have a casual relationship with heritage.
Historical Examples
Every day I meet men who tell the most wonderful stories in the most casual way.
Ballads of a BohemianRobert W. Service
His large voice was modulated to kindliness as he spoke in a casual manner.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
It came in a most casual voice, despite the dancing delight in her face.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
Kingozi's attention, however, now narrowed to a smaller circle than the casual.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
But in her the action was so casual, so absent, that it did not affect me disagreeably.
Questionable ShapesWilliam Dean Howells
casual
- 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
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- (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
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Word Origin
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
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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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper