nonchalant
adjUK /ˈnɒn.ʃəl.ənt/ · US /ˌnɑn.ʃəˈlɑnt/
Etymology Borrowed from French nonchalant, from Old French nonchaloir (“to be unconcerned”), from non- (“not”) + chaloir (“to have concern for”), from Latin non (“not”) + calēre (“to be warm”).
1
Casually calm and relaxed.
- We handled the whole frenetic situation with a nonchalant attitude.
- On the other hand, to arrive after dusk, when the multitude of garish little public-houses are lit up, giving glimpses of crowded jostling bars and taprooms, is an introduction to a fine city well calculated to affect even the most nonchalant.1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 703:
2 more examples
- […] The Mexican government's response to the American bombing was admirably laid back. General Enrique Diaz Gonzales and Consul General Raul Michel met with United States officials, who issued apologies and an invitation to come to "the next rocket shoot" at White Sands. The Mexican citizenry was similarly nonchalant. "Bomb Blast Fails to Halt Spring Fiesta," said the El Paso Times headline, noting that "many thought the explosion was a cannon fired for the opening of the fiesta."2010, Mary Roach, “You Go First: The Alarming Prospect of Life Without Gravity”, in Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 90:
- Undaunted by the occasion, Ruthe went on to become the first 15-year-old to run a sub-four-minute mile, even managing a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders as he crossed the finish line.2025 March 29, George Ramsay and Patrick Snell, “Aged 15, New Zealander Sam Ruthe has already run a four-minute mile. He would ‘love to try and qualify’ for the 2028 Olympics”, in CNN:
2
Indifferent; unconcerned; behaving as if detached.
- He is far too nonchalant about such a serious matter.
- Derived terms
- nonchalantism, nonchalantly, nonchalantness
- Related terms
- nonchalance