casual

[ kazh-oo-uhl ]
See synonyms for casual on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. happening by chance; fortuitous: a casual meeting.

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

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

  2. seeming or tending to be indifferent to what is happening; relaxed; nonchalant: a casual, unconcerned air.

  3. without emotional intimacy or commitment: casual sex.

  4. irregular; occasional: a casual visitor.

  5. accidental: a casual mishap.

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

  7. 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.

  1. Usually casuals . an article of clothing for casual wear.

  2. a person who does something only occasionally: Most of our customers are casuals.

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

Origin of casual

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin cāsuālis, equivalent to cāsus case1 + -ālis -al1; replacing Middle English casuel, from Middle French, from Latin as above

synonym study For casual

1. See accidental.

Other words for casual

Opposites for casual

Other words from casual

  • 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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use casual in a sentence

  • "Take a real rest," she ordered in a short, thick, over-casual voice.

    The Narrow House | Evelyn Scott

British Dictionary definitions for casual

casual

/ (ˈkæʒjʊəl) /


adjective
  1. happening by accident or chance: a casual meeting

  2. offhand; not premeditated: a casual remark

  1. shallow or superficial: a casual affair

  2. being or seeming unconcerned or apathetic: he assumed a casual attitude

  3. (esp of dress) for informal wear: a casual coat

  4. occasional or irregular: casual visits; a casual labourer

  5. biology another term for adventive

noun
  1. (usually plural) an informal article of clothing or footwear

  2. an occasional worker

  1. biology another term for an adventive

  2. (usually plural) a young man dressed in expensive casual clothes who goes to football matches in order to start fights

Origin of casual

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

Derived forms of casual

  • casually, adverb
  • casualness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012