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  • Adj.

nonchalant

NON-shuh-lahnt

Context
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Even though Ted had a major exam the next day, he acted nonchalant or totally unworried as he lazily sunned himself on the beach. Tara asked him if he should be studying, but the unconcerned Ted replied nonchalantly, “I have all night after we get back. It will be easy!” Ted’s nonchalant, casual attitude made the trip to the shore fun, but most definitely did not help his poor final grade in organic chemistry.

Quiz: When might someone act in a nonchalant way?

  • They wanted to appear uninterested and casual.
  • They hoped to seem eager and excited.
  • They wanted everybody to know they were angry.

Memory Hook
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Ant Chalet When Tricia arrived at her beautiful chalet in the Alps, she found that it had been overrun by ants; despite the fact that her chalet was now an ant chalet, she remained nonchalant as she called the exterminator.

Examples
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  • If the Olympic women’s soccer team is any indication, the best way to raise a champion — or, for that matter, an active, healthy, sports-loving child — is to be as nonchalant as possible. — Newsweek
  • Four bald eagles, unmistakable with their white heads and tails, perch with a nonchalant fierceness, eyeballing the bird-watchers stopped along the gravel road here to eyeball back at these iconic national symbols. — The Christian Science Monitor
  • Yuri’s cousin Eriks, who plays in a Latvian band called 'Volcano of Love' and can flick his cigarette butt to the ground in a dazzling arc of ember, has all the nonchalant East-Euro chic that Yuri seems to lack. — The Christian Science Monitor
  • Sasha was correcting the wheel and glaring at me with fire shooting out of his eyes, while the rest of the people in the car were trying their best to look nonchalant, involuntarily cast into an overly melodramatic situation. — Men's Health

Word Ingredients
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non- not
cal be warm, hot
-ant being in a state or condition

A nonchalant person is “not heated” by thorny or difficult situations, but rather remains “cool” under pressure.

Word Theater
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Moonlighting He tries to get her to act in a nonchalant fashion.
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Word Constellation
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Nonchalant