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casual

"Oh, no, are you kidding me? He's not my boyfriend, we're just in a casual relationship," means that our relationship lacks serious intent or commitment.

A synonym for casual is "everyday", meaning nothing special, unusual, serious, or eventful. If you're going to your friend's house for a dinner of burgers and beer, they might say, "It's just a casual night at home." Or, "Dress casual, we're just going to be serving ourselves." Don't run out to buy a special outfit, because what you're already wearing is probably just fine. It's what you wear every day, all the time; it's casual. If you treat a person or a subject in a casual way, you're not paying close attention or treating them as special. That's not always a bad thing, by the way.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: casual

1
adj
without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand
2
adj
hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
3
adj
appropriate for ordinary or routine occasions
4
adj
occurring from time to time
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: casual
1

adj without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand

“a casual remark”
“information collected by casual methods and in their spare time”
Synonyms
unplanned
without apparent forethought or prompting or planning

adj marked by blithe unconcern

“an ability to interest casual students”
“showed a casual disregard for cold weather”
Synonyms:
insouciant, nonchalant
unconcerned
lacking in interest or care or feeling

adj natural and unstudied

“using their Christian names in a casual way”
Synonyms:
free-and-easy
informal
not formal

adj not showing effort or strain

“a difficult feat performed with casual mastery”
Synonyms:
effortless
easy
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
2

adj hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough

“a casual (or cursory) inspection failed to reveal the house's structural flaws”
Synonyms:
cursory, passing, perfunctory
careless
marked by lack of attention or consideration or forethought or thoroughness; not careful

adj characterized by a feeling of irresponsibility

“a broken back is nothing to be casual about”
Synonyms:
fooling
light
psychologically light; especially free from sadness or troubles
3

adj appropriate for ordinary or routine occasions

casual clothes”
Synonyms:
daily, everyday
informal
not formal
4

adj occurring from time to time

casual employment”
“a casual correspondence with a former teacher”
Synonyms:
occasional
irregular
contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice

adj occurring or appearing or singled out by chance

“seek help from casual passers-by”
“a casual meeting”
Synonyms:
chance
unplanned
without apparent forethought or prompting or planning
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