casual

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casual

happening by chance; unexpected; fortuitous: a casual meeting; not dressy: a casual event

Not to be confused with:

causal – of or implying a cause; relating to or of the nature of cause and effect: a causal factor

ca·su·al

(kăzh′o͞o-əl)

adj.

a. Being without ceremony or formality; relaxed or informal: a casual evening with friends.

b. Unpremeditated or offhand: a casual remark.

c. Suited for everyday wear or informal use: casual clothing.

2. Not serious or thorough; superficial: a casual inspection; a casual understanding of French.

3. Showing little interest or concern; nonchalant: "speaks with casual aplomb about being shot at" (Janelle Brown).

4. Occurring or being such by chance: "in the first months when I was pregnant, before it was obvious to the casual observer" (Anne Roiphe). See Synonyms at chance.

a. Occurring at irregular or infrequent intervals; occasional: casual employment at a factory; a casual correspondence with a former teacher.

b. Employed on an irregular basis: casual workers.

a. Socialized with only occasionally; not close or intimate: a casual acquaintance.

b. Being or occurring between sexual partners who are not in an established relationship: casual lovers; casual sex.

1. One that serves or appears at irregular intervals, especially a temporary worker.

2. casuals Casualwear: sent my casuals to the cleaners.

3. A soldier temporarily attached to a unit while awaiting permanent assignment.

[Middle English casuel, due to chance, unpredictable, from Old French, from Latin cāsuālis, from cāsus, event; see case¹.]

ca′su·al·ly adv.

ca′su·al·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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. (Clothing & Fashion) (esp of dress) for informal wear: a casual coat.

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

7. (Biology) biology another term for adventive

8. (Clothing & Fashion) (usually plural) an informal article of clothing or footwear

9. an occasional worker

10. (Biology) biology another term for an adventive

11. (Soccer) (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]

ˈcasually adv

ˈcasualness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cas•u•al

(ˈkæʒ u əl)

adj.

1. happening by chance: a casual meeting.

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

3. seeming or tending to be indifferent; apathetic: a casual air.

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

5. irregular; occasional: a casual visitor.

6. a worker employed only irregularly.

7. a soldier temporarily at a station and waiting for transportation or assignment to a permanent station.

[1325–75; Middle English casuel < Middle French < Latin cāsuālis=cāsu(s) case¹ + -ālis -al¹]

cas′u•al•ly, adv.

cas′u•al•ness, n.

casual

See: transient.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.	1.	casual - marked by blithe unconcern; "an ability to interest casual students"; "showed a casual disregard for cold weather"; "an utterly insouciant financial policy"; "an elegantly insouciant manner"; "drove his car with nonchalant abandon"; "was polite in a teasing nonchalant manner" insouciant, nonchalant unconcerned - lacking in interest or care or feeling; "the average American...is unconcerned that his or her plight is the result of a complex of personal and economic and governmental actions...beyond the normal citizen's comprehension and control"; "blithely unconcerned about his friend's plight"
	2.	casual - without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand; "a casual remark"; "information collected by casual methods and in their spare time" unplanned - without apparent forethought or prompting or planning; "an unplanned economy"; "accepts an unplanned order"; "an unplanned pregnancy"; "unplanned remarks"
	3.	casual - appropriate for ordinary or routine occasions; "casual clothes"; "everyday clothes" daily, everyday informal - not formal; "conservative people unaccustomed to informal dress"; "an informal free-and-easy manner"; "an informal gathering of friends"
	4.	casual - occurring or appearing or singled out by chance; "seek help from casual passers-by"; "a casual meeting"; "a chance occurrence" chance unplanned - without apparent forethought or prompting or planning; "an unplanned economy"; "accepts an unplanned order"; "an unplanned pregnancy"; "unplanned remarks"
	5.	casual - hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough; "a casual (or cursory) inspection failed to reveal the house's structural flaws"; "a passing glance"; "perfunctory courtesy" cursory, perfunctory, passing careless - marked by lack of attention or consideration or forethought or thoroughness; not careful; "careless about her clothes"; "forgotten by some careless person"; "a careless housekeeper"; "careless proofreading"; "it was a careless mistake"; "hurt by a careless remark"
	6.	casual - occurring from time to time; "casual employment"; "a casual correspondence with a former teacher"; "an occasional worker" occasional irregular - contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice; "irregular hiring practices"
	7.	casual - characterized by a feeling of irresponsibility; "a broken back is nothing to be casual about; it is no fooling matter" fooling light - psychologically light; especially free from sadness or troubles; "a light heart"
	8.	casual - natural and unstudied; "using their Christian names in a casual way"; "lectured in a free-and-easy style" free-and-easy informal - not formal; "conservative people unaccustomed to informal dress"; "an informal free-and-easy manner"; "an informal gathering of friends"
	9.	casual - not showing effort or strain; "a difficult feat performed with casual mastery"; "careless grace" effortless easy - posing no difficulty; requiring little effort; "an easy job"; "an easy problem"; "an easy victory"; "the house is easy to heat"; "satisfied with easy answers"; "took the easy way out of his dilemma"

casual

adjective

1. careless, relaxed, informal, indifferent, unconcerned, apathetic, blasé, offhand, nonchalant, insouciant, lackadaisical an easy-going young man with a casual approach to life
careless concerned, serious, committed, enthusiastic, passionate

2. chance, unexpected, random, accidental, incidental, unforeseen, unintentional, fortuitous (informal), serendipitous, unpremeditated It was just a casual meeting.
chance planned, expected, fixed, arranged, deliberate, foreseen, intentional, premeditated

3. informal, leisure, sporty, non-dressy I bought casual clothes for the weekend.
informal formal, ceremonial, dressy

4. temporary, short-term, occasional, part-time, uncertain, irregular I've been doing casual work in a hostel for five months.

5. promiscuous I don't believe in having casual sex.

6. perfunctory, careless, cursory, offhand, nonchalant I stood up and gave a casual glance behind me.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

casual

adjective

1. Occurring unexpectedly:

accidental, chance, contingent, fluky, fortuitous, inadvertent, odd.

2. Unconstrained by rigid standards or ceremony:

easy, easygoing, informal, natural, relaxed, spontaneous, unceremonious, unrestrained.

Informal: laid-back.

Translations

عَرَضيغَيْرُ رَسْميغَيْر مُتَعَمَّد، غَيرْ مَقصود، عابِرغَيْر مُنْتَظَممُسْتَرِيح

brigádníkletmýnáhodnýneformálnínenucený

afslappetflygtigtilfældiguformel

zufällig flüchtig gelegentlich gleichgültig leger

ανέμελος

informal despreocupado eventual fortuito ocasional

satunnainen

désinvolte fortuit indifférent informel rapide

ležeran

hétköznapikényelmesköznapiközvetlenlezser

ígripa-lausleguróformlegurófyrirhugaîur

accidentale casuale noncurante occasionale

偶然の

무심한

atsainiaiatsainumasatsainuskasdieninisneapgalvotas

gadījumaikdienas-nejaušsneoficiālsneparedzēts

achteloos

flyktig fritids-løs-midlertidig nonchalant

niedbały

casual

легкомысленный

letmý

ravnodušenslučajenšporten

ledig

ไม่จริงจัง

düzensiz geçici gelişigüzel gündelik günlük

hững hờ

临时的偶然的漫不经心的随便的非正式的

casual

[ˈkæʒjʊəl]

A. ADJ

1. (= not planned) [walk, stroll] → sin rumbo fijo, al azar; [meeting, encounter] → fortuito; [caller] → ocasional
it was just a casual conversation between strangers → no era más que una conversación para pasar el rato entre extraños
to the casual eye → a simple vista
he ran a casual eye down the page → le echó un vistazo a la página
a casual glance → una ojeada
to the casual observer → para el observador ocasional
a casual remark → un comentario hecho a la ligera
she gave him a casual wave → lo saludó informalmente con la mano

2. (= offhand) [attitude] → despreocupado, poco serio; [manner] → informal; [tone] → informal, poco serio
he tried to appear/sound casual → intentó parecer/sonar relajado
he was very casual about it → no le dio mucha importancia
to assume a casual air → hacer como si nada

3. (= informal) [discussion] → informal; [clothing] → de sport, informal
casual wear → ropa de sport, ropa informal

4. (= occasional) [drinker, drug user, relationship] → esporádico
he's just a casual acquaintance → es un conocido nada más
casual sex → relaciones fpl sexuales promiscuas

5. (= temporary) [labour, work, employment] → eventual
on a casual basis → temporalmente, eventualmente
casual worker (in office, factory) → trabajador(a) m/f eventual; (on farm) → trabajador(a) m/f temporero/a, jornalero/a m/f

B. N casuals (= shoes) → zapatos mpl de sport; (= clothes) → ropa f de sport, ropa f informal

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

casual

[ˈkæʒuəl] adj

(= unconcerned) [attitude, person] → désinvolte
a casual attitude → une attitude désinvolte

(= irregular) [work, labour, worker] → temporaire

(= chance) [observer] → de passage; [remark] → fait(e) en passant; [meeting] → fortuit(e)
It was just a casual remark → C'était juste une remarque en passant.

[clothes] → décontracté(e)
I prefer casual clothes → Je préfère les vêtements décontractés.
casual wear → vêtements mpl sport inv

(not committed, not sustained) [affair] → sans engagement; [contact] → ordinaire
The virus is not transmitted through casual contact → Le virus ne se transmet pas par contact ordinaire.
casual sex → rapports mpl sexuels occasionnels
a casual acquaintance → une simple connaissance

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

casual

adj

(= not planned) → zufällig; acquaintance, glance → flüchtig; we were in the area, so we paid them a casual visit → wir waren gerade in der Gegend und haben sie bei der Gelegenheit besucht

(= offhand, careless) → lässig; attitude → gleichgültig; remark → beiläufig; (= lacking emotion) → gleichgültig; it was just a casual remark → das war nicht so ernst gemeint, das habe ich/hat er etc nur so gesagt; he was very casual about it → es war ihm offensichtlich gleichgültig; (in reaction) → das hat ihn kaltgelassen or nicht tangiert (inf); you shouldn’t be so casual about it → du solltest das nicht so leichtnehmen or auf die leichte Schulter nehmen; he tried to sound casual → er tat so, als ob ihm das nichts ausmachen würde; he had a rather casual manner for a policeman → für einen Polizisten war er ziemlich salopp or lässig; the casual observer → der oberflächliche Betrachter

(= informal) → zwanglos; discussion, chat also → ungezwungen; clothes → leger; a casual shirt → ein Freizeithemd nt; casual wear → Freizeitkleidung f; he was wearing casual clothes → er war leger gekleidet; I want something casual (when buying clothes) → ich möchte etwas Sportliches or Lässiges

(= irregular) work, worker, labourer → Gelegenheits-; (= occasional) drug user, sexual partner → gelegentlich; affair, relationship → locker; casual drinker → Gelegenheitstrinker(in) m(f); casual friendship → oberflächliche Freundschaft; casual sex → Gelegenheitssex m, → freie Liebe

casuals pl (= shoes) → Slipper pl

(= casual worker) → Gelegenheitsarbeiter(in) m(f); casuals → Aushilfen pl

(also football casual) → Fußballrowdy m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

casual

[ˈkæʒjʊəl]

1. adj

a. (by chance, meeting) → fortuito/a, casuale; (walk, stroll) → senza meta precisa; (glance) → di sfuggita; (remark) → fatto/a di sfuggita
we're just casual acquaintances → ci conosciamo appena
to have casual sex → avere avventure

b. (unconcerned, attitude, person) → noncurante, indifferente, disinvolto/a
he was very casual about it → si è mostrato indifferente

c. (informal, discussion, tone) → informale; (clothing) → sportivo/a, casual inv
casual wear → casual m

d. (irregular, work) → saltuario/a; (worker) → saltuario/a, avventizio/a

2. casuals npl (shoes) → calzature fpl sportive

casual

(ˈkӕʒuəl) adjective

1. not careful. I took a casual glance at the book.

2. informal. casual clothes.

3. happening by chance. a casual remark.

4. not regular or permanent. casual labour.

ˈcasually adverb

ˈcasualness noun

casual

→ مُسْتَرِيح nonšalantní afslappet gleichgültig ανέμελος despreocupado, informal satunnainen informel ležeran noncurante 偶然の 무심한 achteloos skjødesløs niedbały casual легкомысленный ledig ไม่จริงจัง umursamaz hững hờ 随便的

casual

a. casual, accidental.

References in classic literature ?

But to me the future is still black and blank--is a vast ignorance, lit at a few casual places by the memory of his story.

View in context

He cast but a casual glance upon the single slave who stood guard.

View in context

A casual observer, adds the secretary, to whose notes we are indebted for the following account--a casual observer might possibly have remarked nothing extraordinary in the bald head, and circular spectacles, which were intently turned towards his

View in context

If the Mediterranean, the venerable (and sometimes atrociously ill- tempered) nurse of all navigators, was to rock my youth, the providing of the cradle necessary for that operation was entrusted by Fate to the most casual assemblage of irresponsible young men(all, however, older than myself) that, as if drunk with Provencal sunshine, frittered life away in joyous levity on the model of Balzac's "Histoire des Treize" qualified by a dash of romance DE CAPE ET D'EPEE.

View in context

Instead of making casual voyages, in transient ships, they established regular trading houses in the high latitudes, along the northwest coast of America, and upon the chain of the Aleutian Islands between Kamtschatka and the promontory of Alaska.

View in context

Ever and anon, too, there came a glare of red light out of his eyes, as if the old man's soul were on fire and kept on smouldering duskily within his breast, until by some casual puff of passion it was blown into a momentary flame.

View in context

A casual observer might have thought "and there ends the dialogue!" That casual observer would have been mistaken.

View in context

'They'll make you pay, as fur as your money will go,' pursued the Deputy, 'for your relief as a Casual and for your being passed to your Parish.'

View in context

He chose his moment carefully, and tried to make his request sound casual; but he could not master the trembling of his voice; and he felt himself that into words that he wished to seem jovial and friendly there crept the bitterness of his jealousy.

View in context

The Blackfoot is the hereditary enemy of the Crow, toward whom hostility is like a cherished principle of religion; for every tribe, besides its casual antagonists, has some enduring foe with whom there can be no permanent reconciliation.

View in context

The thing that struck him most was the exceedingly casual way in which some craft loafed about the broad Atlantic.

View in context

When Daughtry sauntered along the main deck a few minutes later and paused for a gossip with the customs officer and a quartermaster at the head of the gang-plank, Captain Duncan little dreamed that his casual glance was resting on his steward for the last time.