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casual

[kazh-oo-uh

Example Sentences Origin

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.

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

irregular; occasional: a casual visitor.

EXPAND

accidental: a casual mishap.

Obsolete. uncertain.

COLLAPSE

noun

a worker employed only irregularly.

a soldier temporarily at a station or other place of duty, and usually en route to another station.

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Casual is always a great word to know.

So is interrobang. Does it mean:

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

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Origin:
1325–75; Middle English < Latin cāsuālis, equivalent to cāsu(s) case¹ + -ālis -al¹; replacing Middle English casuel < Middle French < Latin as above

Related forms

cas·u·al·ly, adverb

cas·u·al·ness, noun

o·ver·cas·u·al, adjective

o·ver·cas·u·al·ly, adverb

o·ver·cas·u·al·ness, noun

EXPAND

ul·tra·cas·u·al, adjective

ul·tra·cas·u·al·ly, adverb

ul·tra·cas·u·al·ness, noun

un·cas·u·al, adjective

un·cas·u·al·ly, adverb

un·cas·u·al·ness, noun

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. unexpected, fortuitous, unforeseen. See accidental. 5. random.

Antonyms
1. planned.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To casual

Example Sentences

The trend to casual styles developed strength as the fall fur shows continued last week.

Most of the men wore khaki pants with casual blazers and ties.

To a casual observer, a cash shortage is not immediately obvious.

EXPAND

The trend to casual styles developed strength as the fall fur shows continued last week.

Most of the men wore khaki pants with casual blazers and ties.

To a casual observer, a cash shortage is not immediately obvious.

Even the casual visitor can explore this solitude without getting outfitted for a backpack expedition.

Some of its young students now weave brain anatomy into casual conversation.

At some point, perhaps, these measurements will work their way into a sentence or casual comment.

Spooned around the pie, mashed potatoes offer casual comfort, but they can be piped for a more formal effect.

These apps run the gamut from casual time-wasters to truly hard-core epics.

Today's new luxurious casual look has a special vocabulary of its own, reflecting its various historical roots.

Instead of the promised casual reception, your job talk will be parsed ferociously.

Any casual conversation shows the state's essential niceness.

For hundreds¿perhaps thousands¿of years, casual observers have noticed the seasonal movements of birds.

They've done this hundreds of times and are casual about protection.

Before trick-or-treaters head into the night, invite parents and kids over for a casual buffet that's perfect for the season.

And although hardcore gamers tend to stick with consoles, the casual gaming industry is booming.

The latest development in traditional decor is an informality in style that invites a casual rather than a formal way of life.

But the casual reader may conclude that teachers in higher education as a group are pretty well-off.

The incorporation of tens of thousands of youthful casual teachers will be a step in the right direction.

These legendary figures have not come for a casual visit.

It is a casual town: jeans, shorts and flip-flops are the norm.

The casual comfort of the two chairs seems to invite relaxation and intimate conversation.

Even casual readers of this blog are probably aware that there's a big fight going on within the military.

Benzing even corrects some of his student's rough grammar in casual conversation.

Indeed: this casual phrase had far-reaching consequences.

Many theories however are so well supported that in a more casual sense they can be considered true.

As restaurants became more casual and menus as descriptive as cookbooks, dishes were easier to duplicate at home.

Casual observers might equate sustainability with saving money on electric bills or saving the planet.

Federalism offers opportunities for casual experimentation.

Since business or employment attire is not a social choice, try casual wear.

The winding walkway invites exploration of more of this casual low-water landscape.

The people who have done well out of the trend towards casual dining have been the craft potters.

Someone with a cold infects a few casual contacts, who in turn infect others.

Low slung seating sests a casual tone for gatherings.

As a result, to the casual observer, his life looks a bit of a jumble.

The more casual followers you have, the more the things you say will be disseminated through the ripple effect.

Zsori takes a casual yet elegant approach to decorating that embodies the essence of the season.

Its affordable, trendy clothes epitomised casual cool.

Simpll\y put, the clients data should have be secure from casual downloading.

Burgers are the perfect solution for casual entertaining: easy, quick to cook, and beloved by almost everyone.

No sign of a person of that name can be found with a casual google search.

If nothing else, at a casual glance, it makes for good marketing and possibly even a usable device.

Serve the condiments on the side for a casual evening party.

The idea is that casual readers of the paper will be able to keep visiting the website, whereas heavy users will be charged.

It's this built-in food supply that makes these types of plants more forgiving of casual care and attention.

The casual containers imposed their own style--clean, cheerful, carefree.

Nights on the town have a distinctly casual air in a place where they're fond of saying the stars outnumber the streetlights.

We were drawn to its casual elegance and comfortable.

Casual photographers looking to upgrade to a more sophisticated model might find this.

It's more often jeans and sweatshirts than even business casual.

Most casual visitors will swear time has stopped dead, that the only thing growing faster than the wheat is boredom.

Pack good walking shoes and casual clothes?this is a laid-back town.

Finer restaurant chains have been hit hard, and so have the casual sit-down places.

It's not difficult for a casual researcher to gain entry into the bizarre world of cults and anti-cult activists.

His bright, casual sweaters would be dyed after they had been.

Sometimes such regional distinctions are obvious to even casual observers.

To the casual observer these behaviours may seem random.

At home the volume is sufficient for casual listening, but don't expect to impress the neighbors with your eclectic playlist.

The best of the casual restaurants reviewed this year proved that delicious doesn't have to mean pricey.

These are the middle-aged middle managers, thrust into a brave new world of casual dress and techno-tribalism at the workplace.

Laureates share wisdom with young scientists in talks and casual conversation.

But there's also a growing group of casual gamers who play in short bursts on cell.

Young people don't need to rent or buy casual games.

My chair is seen in casual slacks a button down shirt.

To casual visitors, the islands still seem deceptively peaceful.

The dead were often buried on their sides in casual positions.

Casual gamers can jump into battles as easily as the more dedicated adventurers.

Among the bookish, even casual literary references can turn into romantic deal breakers.

However, it does stop the casual attempts to use standard browser features.

The casual reader is left pondering why it has not already been deployed.

But casual sightings in recent years indicate that a herd of seven horses was living in the park last year.

Such distinctions might seem arcane to the casual observer.

Plenty of new ways to reorganize enemy internals, and a casual side that's potentially.

Paris has entered a new generation of casual fine dining.

Eeyore started mentioning casual comments that could be interpreted as job openings.

While casual cocaine use has declined, heroin consumption has increased.

Even in casual chat, he speaks at the frenetic, unpunctuated pace of a play-by-play sportscaster.

That's the thinking behind these casual arrangements of pumpkins.

For casual gamers, this rig should be the system of choice.

But one thing that is clear is how casual and unobtrusive it is compared with a laptop.

Taliesin's iterations and casual construction ensured unusual features.

To the casual viewer, they evoke seaside memories and.

Yes, because science is a matter of personal experience and casual opinion.

Perfect for casual entertaining or a family meal, these dishes are updated.

Vagrant: rare to casual east and west of narrow range.

Concluding anything decisive by only a casual observation is a sure way to come to a bad conclusion.

There was something about the casual way she said it that provoked me to ask for a copy of the police report.

But there's a more casual dimension to the race, too.

Other researchers worry that this casual approach to disclosure could create a backlash against the technology.

Just make sure you ask the right people and be casual about how you ask sometimes.

Vagrant: casual to the east, particularly in fall and winter.

Formal wood-panel interior and more casual garden terrace.

Its unfortunate that there are no fully trustworthy sources of information available for the casual observer.

For avid travelers, the store also offers a travel line that ranges from casual apparel to adventurous expedition gear.

In keeping with the garden's casual theme, the outdoor dining area is paved.

What you failed to grasp from this article is that statistical correlation does not establish any casual relationship.

Position your arrangement at one corner of the table for a more casual look.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

casual (ˈkæʒjʊəl)

—*adj*
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: casual visits; a casual labourer
7.	biology another term for adventive

—n
8.	(usually plural) an informal article of clothing or footwear
9.	an occasional worker
10.	biology another term for an adventive
11.	(usually plural) a young man dressed in expensive casual clothes who goes to football matches in order to start fights

[C14: from Late Latin cāsuālis happening by chance, from Latin cāsus event, from cadere to fall; see case¹]

'casually

—*adv*

'casualness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

casual

late 14c., "subject to or produced by chance," from O.Fr. casuel, from L.L. casualis "by chance," from L. casus "chance, event" (see case (1)). Of persons, in the sense of "not to be depended on, unmethodical," it is attested from 1883.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

casual

an essay written in a familiar, often humorous style. The word is usually associated with the style of essay that was cultivated at The New Yorker magazine

Learn more about casual with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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