offhandedly

adverb

as in casually

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of offhandedly With the wedding just a few weeks away, Gail offhandedly introduces Tom to the concept of the celebrity pass, in which each person in a committed partnership is allowed to have sex with one famous person of his or her choice, identified in advance. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 10 July 2026 Cardenas announced Apollo 3 in much the same way, offhandedly during our conversation. — John Koetsier, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026 America is offhandedly disregarding science. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 15 May 2026 Sometimes, Academy Award-winning actress Sandra Bullock will offhandedly give you career advice. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 28 Nov. 2025 The tragedy side of things is addressed rather offhandedly — occasionally the movie will remember the boggling grief and betrayal at its center, only to shrug it off again just as quickly. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offhandedly
  1. casually
  2. carelessly
  3. arbitrarily
  4. informally
  5. whimsically
  6. offhand
  7. indiscriminately
  8. capriciously
Adverb
  • People continue to mill around the Jeep, chatting casually, trying to understand what has happened.
    — Sydney Brownstone, NPR, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Made from a lightweight linen-blend material, it can be styled casually on travel days with white sneakers or dressed up for a nice dinner with strappy sandals.
    — Caroline Hughes, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of casually
Adverb
  • The Dirties includes a scene where Johnson’s out-of-touch high-school character is in blackface, while the Nirvanna web series has bits that carelessly chase juvenile provocation, including stray uses of racial accents and slurs.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 July 2026
  • Flying an unmanned aircraft system carelessly or recklessly, interfering with a first responder operation, is also a misdemeanor under state law and San Diego municipal code.
    — Sydney Brammer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2026
Definition of carelessly
Adverb
  • Folsom’s order keeping the grace period in effect concluded that plaintiffs are likely to succeed in their constitutional challenge of the law because arbitrarily disenfranchise voters due to mail delays beyond their control.
    — Cuyler Dunn, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026
  • In theory, this means any two spins could be moved around arbitrarily, brought into proximity, and entangled.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 29 July 2026
Definition of arbitrarily
Adverb
  • Huang informally surveyed 76 sellers in his teaching cohort and webinar audience.
    — Elaine Pofeldt, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
  • Either way, both projects sit in a similar speed bracket, competing informally for bragging rights before any official body weighs in.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 July 2026
Definition of informally
Adverb
  • Out in the high desert near Cabazon, my favorite stops are Hadley’s Fruit Orchards, home of the famous Hadley date shakes, and the whimsically Cabazon Dinosaur sculptors.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
  • No landlord would allow an occupant to change his property without approval, let alone whimsically destroy a third of it.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2026
Definition of whimsically
Adverb
  • Mara, Lisa and Astrid say bizarre and unsettling things, their cruelty and spite sometimes offhand, sometimes calculated.
    — Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Apr. 2022
  • The Trolley Problem entails having to make difficult choices, contextually herein in the nature of driving decisions, and is often offhand dismissed by some as a misleading folly in the self-driving realm.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021
Definition of offhand
Adverb
  • Julia Masli didn’t indiscriminately choose to employ seven ha’s in the title of her show.
    — David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 July 2026
  • The answer was not to remove useful context indiscriminately.
    — Gaurav Aggarwal, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of indiscriminately
Adverb
  • Permits that are granted and withdrawn capriciously, tax credits that come and go, technologies that fall in or out of favor in successive administrations, and endless legal battles all amount to dangerous barriers to investment.
    — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 16 Apr. 2026
  • That standard would uphold the NCAA’s interpretation of the waiver rule so long as the NCAA didn’t act arbitrarily or capriciously, either of which is difficult to show.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Definition of capriciously

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offhanded
offhandedly
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Cite this Entry

“Offhandedly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offhandedly. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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