nonchalant
[non-shuh-lahnt, non-shuh-lahnt, -luh nt]
- coolly unconcerned, indifferent, or unexcited; casual: His nonchalant manner infuriated me.
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Origin of nonchalant
Synonyms
See more synonyms for nonchalant on Thesaurus.comcool, calm, collected, composed.
Antonyms
excitable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for nonchalantly
Contemporary Examples
As the years passed, I envied women who nonchalantly mentioned their periods as nothing more than a minor irritation.
Then, handing me back my iPad, he said nonchalantly in a really good mock-English accent, “Sorry, chap, my dance card is full.”
He landed on a Daily Double, bid $18,000, got it right, and nonchalantly scrawled a final Jeopardy!
She nonchalantly drops trow, and three or so of us stare at the pattern of her pubic hair.
“Oh, I have plenty,” she says nonchalantly, shrugging and waving her arms.
Historical Examples
He took one, and placed it nonchalantly in his waistcoat pocket, as he had seen the others do.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
"Well, Baker," said Burr nonchalantly, nodding to his former assistant.
"I know more about Miss Doris Leighton than you think," she said, nonchalantly.
Miss Pat at SchoolPemberton Ginther
Nonchalantly he turned the letter face downward and went on with the meal.
The Lure of the MaskHarold MacGrath
Nonchalantly, the fat man dug them out and handed them over.
The Colors of SpaceMarion Zimmer Bradley
nonchalant
- casually unconcerned or indifferent; uninvolved
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Word Origin
C18: from French, from nonchaloir to lack warmth, from non- + chaloir, from Latin calēre to be warm
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 nonchalantly
nonchalant
adj.
1734, from French nonchalant, present participle of nonchaloir "be indifferent to, have no concern for" (13c.), from non- "not" (see non-) + chaloir "have concern for," ultimately from Latin calere "be hot" (see calorie). French chaland "customer, client" is of the same origin. Related: Nonchalantly.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper