Explore Merriam-Webster
nonchalant was our Word of the Day on 01/10/2014. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Examples of nonchalant in a Sentence
In those stories, we already find the qualities the world would come to know as “Kafkaesque”: the nonchalant intrusion of the bizarre and horrible into everyday life, the subjection of ordinary people to an inscrutable fate. —Adam Kirsch, New York Times Book Review, 4 Jan. 2009
… watch his iron-backed posture as he rides a horse and listen to the nonchalant way in which, not barking but speaking he says “Fire” to the line of infantry, like someone asking for a light. —John Updike, New Yorker, 30 Sept. 2002
He and Anita (and an ancient, nonchalant Lhasa apso … ) live in a gated community, surrounded by high, vine-covered walls, redolent of Wrigley, that embrace a golf club and an attractive thicket of large houses … —Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated, 19 Mar. 2001
It was thrilling to watch them, the regulars, so nonchalant, so composed as they slipped from Senate cloakroom to Senate hideaway, sharing jokes with powerful men old enough to be their fathers. —Ward Just, New York Times Book Review, 28 May 1989
He was surprisingly nonchalant about winning the award.
She faced the crowd with the nonchalant ease of an experienced speaker.
The team may have been somewhat nonchalant at the beginning of the season, but they now know that they need to work hard.
Recent Examples of nonchalant from the Web
-
Hemsworth is just so impossibly nonchalant through the whole scene.
-
A nonchalant Joe Kovacs isn't sweating the Pre Classic shot and a matchup with Olympic champ Ryan Crouser.
-
This nonchalant carrier wears like a piece of clothing and fills up just like a backpack.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nonchalant'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Stay Cool With the History of Nonchalant
Since "nonchalant" comes ultimately from Latin words meaning "not" and "be warm," it's no surprise that the word is all about keeping one's cool. The French word nonchalant, which we borrowed around 1734, has essentially the same meaning as our English word and was derived in Old French from a verb, "nonchaloir," which meant "to disregard." "Nonchaloir" in turn combines the negative "non-" with "chaloir," which means "to concern" and comes from the Latin calēre ("to be warm"). "Unconcerned" is one synonym of "nonchalant," along with "casual," "complacent," and "insouciant."
Origin and Etymology of nonchalant
French, from Old French, from present participle of nonchaloir to disregard, from non- + chaloir to concern, from Latin calēre to be warm — more at lee
Synonym Discussion of nonchalant
NONCHALANT Defined for English Language Learners
nonchalant
playDefinition of nonchalant for English Language Learners
-
: relaxed and calm in a way that shows that you do not care or are not worried about anything
NONCHALANT Defined for Kids
nonchalant
playDefinition of nonchalant for Students
: showing or having a relaxed manner free from concern or excitement He was surprisingly nonchalant about winning the award.
nonchalantly
\-ˈlänt-lē\ adverbLearn More about nonchalant
-
See words that rhyme with nonchalant Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for nonchalant Spanish Central: Translation of nonchalant Nglish: Translation of nonchalant for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of nonchalant for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up nonchalant? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!