casual

[ kazh-oo-uhl ]

adjective

1. happening by chance; fortuitous:

   a casual meeting.

   Synonyms: incidental, unexpected

   Antonyms: planned

2. without definite or serious intention; careless or offhand; passing:

   a casual remark.

3. appropriate for wear or use on informal occasions; not dressy:

   casual clothes; casual wear.

4. seeming or tending to be indifferent to what is happening; relaxed; nonchalant:

   a casual, unconcerned air.

5. without emotional intimacy or commitment:

   casual sex.

6. irregular; occasional:

   a casual visitor.

   Synonyms: unpredictable, unconcerned, indifferent, apathetic, unceremonious, informal

   Antonyms: serious, formal, concerned

7. accidental:

   a casual mishap.

8. noting or relating to activities that do not require much skill or time commitment: Compare hard-core ( def 6 ).

   casual gamers.

9. Obsolete. uncertain.

noun

1. a worker employed only irregularly.
2. a soldier temporarily at a station or other place of duty, and usually en route to another station.
3. Usually casuals. an article of clothing for casual wear.
4. a person who does something only occasionally:

   Most of our customers are casuals.

5. Usually Disparaging. a person who plays video games that do not require much skill or time commitment.

casual

/ ˈkæʒjʊəl /

adjective

1. happening by accident or chance

   a casual meeting

2. offhand; not premeditated

   a casual remark

3. shallow or superficial

   a casual affair

4. being or seeming unconcerned or apathetic

   he assumed a casual attitude

5. (esp of dress) for informal wear

   a casual coat

6. occasional or irregular

   a casual labourer

   casual visits

7. See adventive
   biology another term for adventive

noun

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

Derived Forms

• ˈcasually, adverb
• ˈcasualness, noun

Other Words From

• cas·u·al·ly adverb
• cas·u·al·ness noun
• o·ver·cas·u·al adjective
• o·ver·cas·u·al·ness noun
• ul·tra·cas·u·al adjective
• ul·tra·cas·u·al·ness noun
• un·cas·u·al adjective
• un·cas·u·al·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of casual¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of casual¹

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

Synonym Study

See accidental.

Example Sentences

According to a poll we conducted in partnership with the market research firm Ipsos in early May, basketball is one of the sports with the highest share of “major” or “casual” fans identifying as Democrats.

From FiveThirtyEight

If you take even a casual interest in cryptocurrency markets, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the term DeFi, which is short for decentralized finance.

From Fortune

Outfitters like Columbia and Patagonia have long made casual frocks meant for traveling or lounging at camp.

From Outside Online

Modern dress—slacks, dress shirts, the uniform of casual businessmen.

From MIT Technology Review

That was so odd when that came across the timeline in such a casual way.

From FiveThirtyEight

After four or five months of casual interaction, they realized they both had lost a young parent to cancer.

From The Daily Beast

And it was such casual racism by people in the halls of power.

From The Daily Beast

Oh, the heaven and hell wrought by the casual use of a pronoun.

From The Daily Beast

He was not a man given to casual affectionate display; the moment was charged with emotion.

From The Daily Beast

They “hook up” in a manner that makes the casual sex of the 1960s seem like an arranged marriage in Oman.

From The Daily Beast

"I was just going to ask you if you all came through together," he observed, in a casual tone.

From Project Gutenberg

The intensity of this drama, however, being interior, caused little outward disturbance that casual onlookers need have noticed.

From Project Gutenberg

It was painfully evident to the most casual observer, that she had died of absolute starvation.

From Project Gutenberg

There must be something therefore in the bow, as well as in the violin, more than meets the eye of a casual observer.

From Project Gutenberg

A casual search of the bar and back room revealed both nearly empty, a natural condition just before dawn.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cool
• cursory
• easygoing
• folksy
• homey
• informal
• laid-back
• mellow
• offhand