Dictionary

casualness en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree English casual Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English casualness From casual + -ness.

Meanings

1. (uncountable, usually) The state of being casual.
2. (uncountable, usually) A relaxed and nonchalant attitude.
   • America insulted the rest of the planet, thought Malik Solanka in his old-fashioned way, by treating such bounty with the shoulder-shrugging casualness of the inequitably wealthy. 2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 6:
   • The controlled way in which Germans and other northern Europeans approach life is quite different from the casualness that characterizes American attitudes. 1997, Michael L. Frankel, Cruising the Gulags::
   • Johnson's blacks bluffed casualness along the sides of the room and Difalco's two whites peered inconspicuously from the door. 1970, Wally Ferris, Across 110th, page 70:

Forms