casual

[ kazh-oo-uhl ]

/ ˈkæʒ u əl /

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.

Nearby words

castro, castro valley, castro, fidel, castroism, castrop-rauxel, casual, casual contact, casual friday, casualization, casualty, casualty insurance

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

SYNONYMS FOR casual

1 unexpected, fortuitous, unforeseen.

6 random.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR casual ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR casual

1 planned.

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Related forms

cas·u·al·ly, adverbcas·u·al·ness, nouno·ver·cas·u·al, adjectiveo·ver·cas·u·al·ly, adverb

o·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

Synonym study

1. See accidental.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
Oh, the heaven and hell wrought by the casual use of a pronoun.
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside|Samantha Harvey|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

We cannot expect to have a casual relationship with heritage.
For Rent: Priceless Historic Sites|Elinor Betesh|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Introduction is a formality and a bore, and is never resorted to by your well-bred host, save in a casual way.
The Young Duke|Benjamin Disraeli
We had separated as though it were the most casual parting in the world.
The Wasted Generation|Owen Johnson
A casual examination of the list of his loves, reciprocated or spurned, would make a companion to that of Weimar.
Egoists|James Huneker
He understood her innocent little subterfuge of being out for a casual stroll just at this time.
Cursed|George Allan England
We heard that many skeletons and relics had been found there by casual excavating, and so went up to try our luck.
The Crest of the Continent|Ernest Ingersoll

British Dictionary definitions for casual

casual

/ (ˈkæʒjʊəl) /

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 Forms

casually, 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

casual

adjective

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of casual

SYNONYMS FOR casual

ANTONYMS FOR casual

Related forms

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for casual

British Dictionary definitions for casual

casual

adjective

noun

Derived Forms

Word Origin for casual