SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
nonchalant
adjective
Appearing casually calm or unconcerned.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Casually unconcerned
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topNonchalant emphasizes apparent lack of effort or concern, which need not reflect the person's actual feelings.
RELATED FORMS, ONE FEATURED ENTRY
The nonchalant family
These forms are closely related, but their grammar and use are not identical. Expand a form to compare its meaning and examples.
nonchalancenoun
An appearance of relaxed ease or lack of concern.
Casual lack of concern
Closest synonyms
Related expressions
He greeted the unexpected delay with remarkable nonchalance.
Jules, the phlegmatic stage manager, kept an even tone while checking the rehearsal schedule. An actor's nonchalance looked equally calm, but it was harder to interpret: she leaned back and smiled while waiting for her cue.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See nonchalant in use
Her nonchalant manner concealed the effort she had put into preparing.
The drummer's nonchalant shrug after dropping a stick made a small mishap look routine rather than alarming.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license