as in impromptu
made or done without previous thought or preparation
an offhand comment that later caused the politician much embarrassment
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in casually
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of offhand
Kelsey Stewart, Vogue, 17 Feb. 2026
Punt e Mes 3 dashes Angostura Bitters This certainly isn’t the most popular of Manhattan variations, despite being one of the few scotch cocktails people can name offhand.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 14 Feb. 2026
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021
Thomas didn’t know offhand but circled back to him with the answer: Six.
—Amie Just | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, 25 Dec. 2020
See All Example Sentences for offhand
Adjective
That offhand remark set everything in motion, from the designs to the dance floor.
—Kelsey Stewart, Vogue, 17 Feb. 2026
Punt e Mes 3 dashes Angostura Bitters This certainly isn’t the most popular of Manhattan variations, despite being one of the few scotch cocktails people can name offhand.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 14 Feb. 2026
Adverb
The Trolley Problem entails having to make difficult choices, contextually herein in the nature of driving decisions, and is often offhand dismissed by some as a misleading folly in the self-driving realm.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021
Thomas didn’t know offhand but circled back to him with the answer: Six.
—Amie Just | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, 25 Dec. 2020
See All Example Sentences for offhand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offhand
Adjective
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Sunday, though, and especially the impromptu late-night gathering at the Linebacker Lounge after a public visitation for Holtz, was about something else.—
Andrew Carter,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Few things are more miserable than wet socks or suede sandals ruined by an impromptu downpour.—
Iman Balagam,
InStyle,
16 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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Your 9th House of Learning awakens as an instinctive New Moon invites you to explore a class, your own philosophies, or (more casually) a potential vacation destination.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Mar. 2026
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Amini was a soccer player on Iran’s national futsal team until 2017, when she was pictured casually playing soccer with some male friends in Switzerland – a crime, she was told by Iran’s governing regime.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Instead, the images shown feature girls and women, all non-actresses, caught in private moments inside their homes and in ordinary life, mixed with improvised scenes in a school, as well as landscape and observational scenes.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Mar. 2026
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The bomb, an improvised explosive device (IED), went off Sunday and damaged the entrance to the embassy's consular section.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
11 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Sometimes, Academy Award-winning actress Sandra Bullock will offhandedly give you career advice.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
28 Nov. 2025
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The tragedy side of things is addressed rather offhandedly — occasionally the movie will remember the boggling grief and betrayal at its center, only to shrug it off again just as quickly.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Considering its loose, improvisational dialogue, stilted line readings, and tendency to break the fourth wall, Tender Touches feels a lot like a show Rick and Morty might stumble across while channel surfing on their interdimensional cable box.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
18 Mar. 2026
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The tension between Goddard’s structured script and Lord and Miller and Gosling’s penchant for improvisational and physical comedy played out on set.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
18 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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The dollar amount was chosen arbitrarily based on what voters might accept, and some cynics saw it as a move by a pro-development commission to cozy up to environmentalists.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Mar. 2026
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That standard would uphold the NCAA’s interpretation of the waiver rule so long as the NCAA didn’t act arbitrarily or capriciously, either of which is difficult to show.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Children are not cars whose gas tanks can simply be carelessly overfilled.—
Lauren Arikan,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Mar. 2026
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For the visitors’ winner, Anthony Gordon unwisely attempted to dribble inside his own half and carelessly lost possession.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
It is known as Obamacare, but only informally.—
Jeremy Lott,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
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In fact, within weeks of taking the job, Franzen informally proposed building a tollway instead of a freeway that had been on the drawing board for 20 years.—
Bob Goldsborough,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Offhand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offhand. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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