casual

English

Alternative forms

• casuall (obsolete)

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French casuel, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Late Latin cāsuālis (“happening by chance”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin cāsus (“event”) (English case), from cadere (“to fall”) (whence English cadence).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkæʒuəl/, /ˈkæʒwəl/, /ˈkæʒəl/
• IPA^(key): /ˈkaʒuəl/, /ˈkaʒjuəl/, /ˈkazjuəl/, /ˈkaʒəl/
• IPA^(key): /ˈkɛʒʉɘl/, /ˈkɛʒɘl/
• IPA^(key): /-uæl/
• Hyphenation: ca‧su‧al, cas‧ual, casu‧al

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Adjective

casual (comparative more casual, superlative most casual)

1. Happening by chance.
   • Washington Irving

     casual breaks, in the general system

   They only had casual meetings.

2. Coming without regularity; occasional or incidental.
   • Nathaniel Hawthorne

     a constant habit, rather than a casual gesture

   The purchase of donuts was just a casual expense.

3. Employed irregularly.
   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 17, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer.

   He was just a casual worker.

4. Careless.
   • 2007, Nick Holland, The Girl on the Bus (page 117)

     I removed my jacket and threw it casually over the back of the settee.

5. Happening or coming to pass without design.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 8, in The China Governess‎^[1]:

     It was a casual sneer, obviously one of a long line. There was hatred behind it, but of a quiet, chronic type, nothing new or unduly virulent, and he was taken aback by the flicker of amazed incredulity that passed over the younger man's ravaged face.

6. Informal, relaxed.
7. Designed for informal or everyday use.

Synonyms

• (happening by chance): accidental, fortuitous, incidental, occasional, random
• (happening or coming to pass without design): unexpected
• (relaxed; everyday use): informal

Antonyms

• (happening by chance): inevitable, necessary
• (happening or coming to pass without design): expected, scheduled
• (relaxed; everyday use): ceremonial, formal

Derived terms

• casualization
• casually
• casualty
• smart casual

 

Translations

happening by chance

• Bashkir: осраҡлы (osraqlı)
• Bulgarian: случаен (bg) (slučaen)
• Catalan: casual (ca)
• Czech: náhodný (cs)
• Finnish: satunnainen (fi)
• French: fortuit (fr), accidentel (fr), de hasard
• Galician: casual
• Georgian: შემთხვევითი (šemtxveviti)
• German: zufällig (de), beiläufig (de)
• Greek: τυχαίος (el) (tychaíos)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: véletlen (hu)
• Japanese: 偶然の (ja) (gūzen no)
• Maori: kōpeka, hāpūpū
• Norwegian: tilfeldig (no)
• Polish: dorywczy m, doraźny (pl) m
• Portuguese: casual (pt), fortuito (pt), ocasional (pt)
• Russian: случа́йный (ru) (slučájnyj)
• Spanish: casual (es), ocasional (es), accidental (es)
• Turkish: tesadüfen (tr), şans eseri

coming without regularity; occasional or incidental

• Bulgarian: случаен (bg) (slučaen), инцидентен (bg) (incidenten)
• Catalan: ocasional
• Czech: občasný (cs), příležitostný
• Finnish: satunnainen (fi)
• French: occasionnel (fr)
• German: gelegentlich (de)
• Greek: περιστασιακός (el) (peristasiakós)
• Hungarian: alkalmi (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 偶然の (ja) (gūzen no)
• Maori: hāramuramu
• Polish: przypadkowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: casual (pt)
• Russian: случа́йный (ru) (slučájnyj)
• Spanish: ocasional (es)
• Turkish: rastgele (tr)

employed irregularly

• Finnish: satunnainen (fi)
• German: gelegentlich (de)
• Hungarian: alkalmi (hu)
• Japanese: 非正規雇用の (hiseiki koyō no)
• Maori: kōhikohiko
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: sezonowy (pl) m
• Russian: вре́менный (ru) (vrémennyj), (seasonal) сезо́нный (ru) (sezónnyj)
• Spanish: ocasional (es)
• Turkish: arasıra (tr)

careless

• Bulgarian: небрежен (bg) (nebrežen)
• Dutch: achteloos (nl)
• Finnish: huoleton (fi)
• French: désinvolte (fr)
• German: gleichgültig (de)
• Hungarian: nemtörődöm (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: noncurante (it)
• Maori: pakirara
• Polish: niedbały (pl) m
• Russian: небре́жный (ru) (nebréžnyj)
• Spanish: indiferente (es)
• Turkish: boşverci

happening or coming to pass without design

• Bulgarian: непредвиден (bg) (nepredviden)
• German: unmethodisch
• Greek: απρόβλεπτος (el) (apróvleptos)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: váratlan (hu)
• Japanese: 思い掛けない (omoigakenai)
• Maori: hāramuramu
• Russian: непреднаме́ренный (ru) (neprednamérennyj), непроизво́льный (ru) (neproizvólʹnyj)

informal, relaxed

• Bulgarian: неофициален (bg) (neoficialen)
• Catalan: informal (ca)
• Danish: afslappet
• German: ungezwungen, leger (de), informell (de)
• Hungarian: fesztelen (hu), közvetlen (hu)
• Japanese: カジュアルな (ja) (kajuaru na), 普段の (ja) (fudan no)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: ōpaki, hāramuramu
• Portuguese: casual (pt)
• Russian: неофициа́льный (ru) (neoficiálʹnyj), неформа́льный (ru) (neformálʹnyj)
• Spanish: informal (es), desenfadado (es)
• Swedish: ledig (sv)

designed for informal or everyday use

• Catalan: informal (ca)
• French: sport (fr), décontracté (fr)
• German: leger (de), sportlich (de), ungezwungen
• Hungarian: hétköznapi (hu), kényelmes (hu), lezser
• Japanese: カジュアルな (ja) (kajuaru na), 普段の (ja) (fudan no), 日用の (ja) (nichiyō no)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: codzienny (pl) m
• Portuguese: casual (pt)
• Russian: повседне́вный (ru) (povsednévnyj), (clothes only) непара́дный (ru) (neparádnyj)
• Spanish: deportivo (es) (clothing)
• Turkish: rahat (tr), sportif (tr)

Noun

casual (plural casuals)

1. (British, Australia, New Zealand) A worker who is only working for a company occasionally, not as its permanent employee.
2. A soldier temporarily at a place of duty, usually en route to another place of duty.
3. (UK) A member of a group of football hooligans who wear expensive designer clothing to avoid police attention; see Casual (subculture).
4. One who receives relief for a night in a parish to which he does not belong; a vagrant.
5. (video games, informal, derogatory) A player of casual games.

   The devs dumbed the game down so the casuals could enjoy it.

6. (dated) (British) A tramp.

Translations

a worker who is only working for a company occasionally

• Czech: brigádník (cs) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: alkalmi munkás

Related terms

• casualty
• case

References

• “casual”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Calusa, casula, causal

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Catalan

Adjective

casual m or f (masculine and feminine plural casuals)

1. casual
2. unplanned

Derived terms

• casualitat
• casualment

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Portuguese

Adjective

1. casual (happening by chance)
2. casual (coming without regularity)
3. casual (designed for informal or everyday use)

Synonyms

• (happening by chance): fortuito
• (coming without regularity): ocasional

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

casual m or f (masculine and feminine plural casuales)

1. casual
2. accidental

Derived terms

• casualmente