Wiktionary

nonchalant

English

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WOTD – 10 March 2009

Etymology

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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”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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nonchalant (comparative more nonchalant, superlative most nonchalant)

  1. Casually calm and relaxed.
    We handled the whole frenetic situation with a nonchalant attitude.
    • 1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 703:
      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.
    • 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:
      […] 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."
    • 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[1]:
      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.
  2. Indifferent; unconcerned; behaving as if detached.
    He is far too nonchalant about such a serious matter.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Danish

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Etymology

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From French nonchalant.

Adjective

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nonchalant

  1. nonchalant, offhand

Inflection

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Inflection of nonchalant
positive comparative superlative
indefinite common singular nonchalant — —2
indefinite neuter singular nonchalant — —2
plural nonchalante — —2
definite attributive1 nonchalante — —

1 When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite,
the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2 The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Adverb

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nonchalant

  1. nonchalantly, offhandedly

Further reading

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Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French nonchalant.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˌnɔn.ʃaːˈlɑnt/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: non‧cha‧lant
  • Rhymes: -ɑnt

Adjective

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nonchalant (comparative nonchalanter, superlative nonchalantst)

  1. careless, showing no interest or effort

Declension

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Declension of nonchalant
uninflected nonchalant
inflected nonchalante
comparative nonchalanter
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial nonchalant nonchalanter het nonchalantst
het nonchalantste
indefinite m./f. sing. nonchalante nonchalantere nonchalantste
n. sing. nonchalant nonchalanter nonchalantste
plural nonchalante nonchalantere nonchalantste
definite nonchalante nonchalantere nonchalantste
partitive nonchalants nonchalanters —
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French

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Etymology

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Present participle of Old French nonchaloir (“to have no importance”), from non +‎ chaloir, equivalent to Latin non (“not”) +‎ calēre (“to be warm”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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nonchalant (feminine nonchalante, masculine plural nonchalants, feminine plural nonchalantes)

  1. Marked by a lack of vivacity, vigour, liveliness; slow-moving; indolent
  2. Cool, relaxed

Usage notes

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  • Although French nonchalant is usually appropriate where the English one is used, its meaning is different.
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Descendants

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Further reading

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German

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French nonchalant, from Old French nonchaloir, from Latin non (“not”) +‎ calēre (“to be warm”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˌnɔ̃ʃaˈlɑ̃ː], [ˌnɔ̃ʃaˈlant]
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

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nonchalant (strong nominative masculine singular nonchalanter, comparative nonchalanter, superlative am nonchalantesten)

  1. nonchalant

Declension

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Positive forms of nonchalant
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist nonchalant sie ist nonchalant es ist nonchalant sie sind nonchalant
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative nonchalanter nonchalante nonchalantes nonchalante
genitive nonchalanten nonchalanter nonchalanten nonchalanter
dative nonchalantem nonchalanter nonchalantem nonchalanten
accusative nonchalanten nonchalante nonchalantes nonchalante
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der nonchalante die nonchalante das nonchalante die nonchalanten
genitive des nonchalanten der nonchalanten des nonchalanten der nonchalanten
dative dem nonchalanten der nonchalanten dem nonchalanten den nonchalanten
accusative den nonchalanten die nonchalante das nonchalante die nonchalanten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein nonchalanter eine nonchalante ein nonchalantes (keine) nonchalanten
genitive eines nonchalanten einer nonchalanten eines nonchalanten (keiner) nonchalanten
dative einem nonchalanten einer nonchalanten einem nonchalanten (keinen) nonchalanten
accusative einen nonchalanten eine nonchalante ein nonchalantes (keine) nonchalanten
Comparative forms of nonchalant
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist nonchalanter sie ist nonchalanter es ist nonchalanter sie sind nonchalanter
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative nonchalanterer nonchalantere nonchalanteres nonchalantere
genitive nonchalanteren nonchalanterer nonchalanteren nonchalanterer
dative nonchalanterem nonchalanterer nonchalanterem nonchalanteren
accusative nonchalanteren nonchalantere nonchalanteres nonchalantere
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der nonchalantere die nonchalantere das nonchalantere die nonchalanteren
genitive des nonchalanteren der nonchalanteren des nonchalanteren der nonchalanteren
dative dem nonchalanteren der nonchalanteren dem nonchalanteren den nonchalanteren
accusative den nonchalanteren die nonchalantere das nonchalantere die nonchalanteren
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein nonchalanterer eine nonchalantere ein nonchalanteres (keine) nonchalanteren
genitive eines nonchalanteren einer nonchalanteren eines nonchalanteren (keiner) nonchalanteren
dative einem nonchalanteren einer nonchalanteren einem nonchalanteren (keinen) nonchalanteren
accusative einen nonchalanteren eine nonchalantere ein nonchalanteres (keine) nonchalanteren
Superlative forms of nonchalant
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist am nonchalantesten sie ist am nonchalantesten es ist am nonchalantesten sie sind am nonchalantesten
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative nonchalantester nonchalanteste nonchalantestes nonchalanteste
genitive nonchalantesten nonchalantester nonchalantesten nonchalantester
dative nonchalantestem nonchalantester nonchalantestem nonchalantesten
accusative nonchalantesten nonchalanteste nonchalantestes nonchalanteste
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der nonchalanteste die nonchalanteste das nonchalanteste die nonchalantesten
genitive des nonchalantesten der nonchalantesten des nonchalantesten der nonchalantesten
dative dem nonchalantesten der nonchalantesten dem nonchalantesten den nonchalantesten
accusative den nonchalantesten die nonchalanteste das nonchalanteste die nonchalantesten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein nonchalantester eine nonchalanteste ein nonchalantestes (keine) nonchalantesten
genitive eines nonchalantesten einer nonchalantesten eines nonchalantesten (keiner) nonchalantesten
dative einem nonchalantesten einer nonchalantesten einem nonchalantesten (keinen) nonchalantesten
accusative einen nonchalantesten eine nonchalanteste ein nonchalantestes (keine) nonchalantesten

Further reading

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From French nonchalant.

Adjective

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nonchalant (indefinite singular nonchalant, definite singular and plural nonchalante)

  1. nonchalant

References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From French nonchalant.

Adjective

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nonchalant (indefinite singular nonchalant, definite singular and plural nonchalante)

  1. nonchalant

References

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