nonchalantly
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of nonchalantly
Explanation
Use the adverb nonchalantly to describe an action done in a really relaxed, casual, unconcerned way. From now on if someone asks you to define the word nonchalantly, you can do it...nonchalantly. It’s no big deal! You may nonchalantly hit a 3-point shot during a basketball game — you've done it a million times before so you're relaxed and confident. Nonchalantly can also describe something that just seems relaxed. Even if you’re truly stressed out about an upcoming test, you can still shrug nonchalantly about it to make people think you’re unconcerned.
Vocabulary lists containing nonchalantly
The Outsiders
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Walk Two Moons
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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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.
To her left, Melvin Gibbs played electric bass—sometimes nonchalantly, sometimes with one bent knee, as if in genuflection.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
But Haaland showed no signs of a lack of confidence when he nonchalantly lifted the ball over Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir from Jeremy Doku's fine through ball.
From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026
After just three minutes, the towering Josh Lord ambled through a huge gap in a ruck before nonchalantly popping the ball off to scampering scrum-half Roigard.
From BBC • Nov. 8, 2025
Reba’s dig at Stracke’s son was the sort of casual, unthinking barb that plenty of Southern mothers have perfected, tossed into a group conversation as nonchalantly as a request for sweet tea.
From Salon • Mar. 5, 2025
“You knew about their quarrel?” he asked quietly, nonchalantly.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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.
