casual Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective satellite marked by blithe unconcern
    nonchalant; insouciant.
    • 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
  2. adjective satellite without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand
    • a casual remark
    • information collected by casual methods and in their spare time
  3. adjective satellite appropriate for ordinary or routine occasions
    daily; everyday.
    • casual clothes
    • everyday clothes
  4. adjective satellite occurring or appearing or singled out by chance
    chance.
    • seek help from casual passers-by
    • a casual meeting
    • a chance occurrence
  5. adjective satellite hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
    perfunctory; passing; cursory.
    • a casual (or cursory) inspection failed to reveal the house's structural flaws
    • a passing glance
    • perfunctory courtesy
  6. adjective satellite occurring from time to time
    occasional.
    • casual employment
    • a casual correspondence with a former teacher
    • an occasional worker
  7. adjective satellite characterized by a feeling of irresponsibility; it is no fooling matter"
    fooling.
    • a broken back is nothing to be casual about
  8. adjective satellite natural and unstudied
    free-and-easy.
    • using their Christian names in a casual way
    • lectured in a free-and-easy style
  9. adjective satellite not showing effort or strain
    effortless.
    • a difficult feat performed with casual mastery
    • careless grace

WordNet

Cas"u*al adjective
Etymology
OE. casuel, F. casuel, fr. L. casualis, fr. casus fall, accident, fr. cadere to fall. See Case.
Definitions
  1. Happening or coming to pass without design, and without being foreseen or expected; accidental; fortuitous; coming by chance.
    Casual breaks, in the general system. W. Irving.
  2. Coming without regularity; occasional; incidental; as, casual expenses.
    A constant habit, rather than a casual gesture. Hawthorne.
    Syn. -- Accidental; fortutious; incidental; occasional; contingent; unforeseen. See Accidental.
Cas"u*al noun
Definitions
  1. One who receives relief for a night in a parish to which he does not belong; a vagrant.

Webster 1913