nonchalant
- 1Calm and relaxed in a casual way, showing little worry, interest or concern about what is happening.
Officials seemed strangely nonchalant about the growing pile of complaints.
His nonchalant reply suggested he didn't much care whether he got the job.
UsageWith about: nonchalant about money. Too nonchalant or strangely nonchalant sounds critical.
Similarcasual, relaxed, unconcerned, indifferent, offhand
Oppositeanxious, concerned, worried
Note
The same calm can be praise or a fault. Which one it is depends on whether the situation deserved concern; a nonchalant shrug at a finish line is admired, a nonchalant reply to complaints is not.
Use it in a sentence
Write your own sentence with nonchalant, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.
Origin
Latin non ("not") and calēre ("to be warm") lie behind Old French non- ("not") and chaloir ("to have concern for"), which combined in nonchaloir ("to be unconcerned"). The French adjective nonchalant developed from that verb, and English borrowed the adjective.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Latin non ("not") and calēre ("to be warm") underlie Old French non- and chaloir, with the stated meanings. en.wiktionary.org
- Old French nonchaloir combined non- and chaloir and meant to be unconcerned. en.wiktionary.org
- French nonchalant developed from the verb nonchaloir. en.wiktionary.org
- English borrowed the French adjective nonchalant. en.wiktionary.org