offhanded

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌɔfˈhændəd/ UK /ˌɒfˈhændɪd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
casual, curt, or unceremonious, often to the point of rudeness

Her offhanded reply suggested she didn't care either way.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · casual, curt, or... casual curt brusque cavalier nonchalant perfunctory abrupt

Opposites

careful considered earnest attentive

Word family

Derived forms offhandedlyoffhandedness

Related forms offhand

Etymology

From the adverbial phrase off hand ('without preparation, extempore') plus the suffix -ed, the literal sense being 'done straight off, not held in hand'.

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# offhanded

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌɔfˈhændəd/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɒfˈhændɪd/

## Meanings
1. casual, curt, or unceremonious, often to the point of rudeness

## Examples
- Her offhanded reply suggested she didn't care either way.

## Synonyms
- casual
- curt
- brusque
- cavalier
- nonchalant
- perfunctory
- abrupt

## Antonyms
- careful
- considered
- earnest
- attentive

## Derived Forms
- offhandedly
- offhandedness

## Related Forms
- offhand

## Etymology
From the adverbial phrase off hand ('without preparation, extempore') plus the suffix -ed, the literal sense being 'done straight off, not held in hand'.

## AI Etymology
Offhanded comes from the adverbial phrase off hand ('without preparation, extempore') plus the suffix -ed, the literal sense being 'done straight off, not held in hand'. As an adjective, offhanded means casual, curt, or unceremonious, often to the point of rudeness. The same family is visible in derived forms such as offhandedly and offhandedness and related forms such as offhand.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown