Nonchalant | Definition of nonchalant by Merriam-Webster

Full Definition of NONCHALANT

: having an air of easy unconcern or indifference

— non·cha·lant·ly adverb

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Examples of NONCHALANT

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
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Origin 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

First Known Use: circa 1734

Related to NONCHALANT

Synonyms: apathetic, casual, complacent, disinterested, incurious, insensible, insouciant, indifferent, perfunctory, pococurante, unconcerned, uncurious, uninterested

Antonyms: concerned, interested

Synonym Discussion of NONCHALANT

cool, composed, collected, unruffled, imperturbable, nonchalant mean free from agitation or excitement. cool may imply calmness, deliberateness, or dispassionateness <kept a cool head>. composed implies freedom from agitation as a result of self-discipline or a sedate disposition <the composed pianist gave a flawless concert>. collected implies a concentration of mind that eliminates distractions especially in moments of crisis <the nurse stayed calm and collected>. unruffled suggests apparent serenity and poise in the face of setbacks or in the midst of excitement <harried but unruffled>. imperturbable implies coolness or assurance even under severe provocation <the speaker remained imperturbable despite the heckling>. nonchalant stresses an easy coolness of manner or casualness that suggests indifference or unconcern <a nonchalant driver>.