nonchalant

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“
The result is that the game's violence, relegated to the distance, feels nonchalant, which is a damn shame considering Argonauts 'use of the Unreal engine makes for some pretty tasty gibs.

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Definitions (5)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. adjective Seeming to be coolly unconcerned or indifferent. See Synonyms at cool.
  2. Word History
    A nonchalant person is not likely to become warm or heated about anything, a fact that is underscored by the etymology of the word nonchalant. It stems from Old French, where it was formed from the negative prefix non- plus chalant, the present participle of the verb chaloir, "to be concerned.” This in turn came from the Latin word calēre, which from its concrete sense "to be hot or warm” developed the figurative sense "to be roused or fired with hope, zeal, or anger.” French formed a noun nonchalance from the adjective nonchalant that was borrowed into English by 1678; the adjective itself was borrowed later, as it is not attested for another half-century.

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Examples (50)

  • He was trying to act very nonchalant, as if they should have expected him all along. —  Lippman, Laura - [Tess Monaghan 04] - In Big Trouble
  • Carol had always called me nonchalant, a word I never understood the meaning of, a word I looked up in a number of French dictionaries and could never find. —  The Informers
  • We cowered in a faint indentation in the wall, pressing against the dripping bushes, and I heard the vehicle scrape a quantity of paint from its opposite side before it was past, the driver calling a nonchalant thanks. —  The Moor - Laurie R King - Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes 04
  • He was not made any easier of mind by his inability to be nonchalant, and he nervously wrung out his shirt and put it back on. —  135 - The Three Devils
  • “What are you saying Just something I've always wondered about.” David's tone remained nonchalant, almost conversational; he could have been discussing the weather. —  Asimov's SF, Feb 2002
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French, from Old French, present participle of nonchaloir, to be unconcerned : non-, non- + chaloir, to cause concern to (from Latin calēre, to be warm, heat up; see kelə-1 in Indo-European roots).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French nonchalant, careless, indifferent, present participle of Old French nonchaloir, nonchaler, care little about, neglect, from non, not, + chaloir, present participle chalant, care for, concern oneself with, from Latin calere, be warm: see calid.
 

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/ nɑnˈʃælɑn/
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