casual
Americanadjective
-
happening by chance; fortuitous.
a casual meeting.
- Synonyms:
- incidental, unexpected
- Antonyms:
- planned
-
without definite or serious intention; careless or offhand; passing.
a casual remark.
-
appropriate for wear or use on informal occasions; not dressy.
casual clothes; casual wear.
-
seeming or tending to be indifferent to what is happening; relaxed; nonchalant.
a casual, unconcerned air.
-
without emotional intimacy or commitment.
casual sex.
-
a casual visitor.
- Synonyms:
- unpredictable, unconcerned, indifferent, apathetic, unceremonious, informal
-
a casual mishap.
-
noting or relating to activities that do not require much skill or time commitment.
casual gamers.
-
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 casuals an article of clothing for casual wear.
-
a person who does something only occasionally.
Most of our customers are casuals.
-
Usually Disparaging. a person who plays video games that do not require much skill or time commitment.
adjective
-
happening by accident or chance
a casual meeting
-
offhand; not premeditated
a casual remark
-
shallow or superficial
a casual affair
-
being or seeming unconcerned or apathetic
he assumed a casual attitude
-
(esp of dress) for informal wear
a casual coat
-
occasional or irregular
casual 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
Related Words
See accidental.
Other Word Forms
- casually adverb
- casualness noun
- overcasual adjective
- overcasualness noun
- ultracasual adjective
- ultracasualness noun
- uncasual adjective
- uncasualness noun
Etymology
Origin of casual
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin cāsuālis, equivalent to cāsus case 1 + -ālis -al 1; replacing Middle English casuel, from Middle French, from Latin as above
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He has a casual demeanor and speaks English with an American accent picked up bingeing shows including “Entourage” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
And over the course of “The Masked Singer” season, Simpson finally proved to those casual observers that she has a voice and knows how to use it.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026
Joggers, cyclists and casual strollers still flock to them daily, despite the risk of bombardment.
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
Subject lines include “Recognizing the need for fasting,” “Mice blood age affects Alzheimer’s brain changes,” and “A casual hypothesis about epigenetics.”
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
Naturally, I disliked this, but there seemed nothing alarming or unusual about it; though some of those casual remarks and private jokes assumed a horrific significance much later.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
