ADVERB
  1. in a casually inconsiderate manner
    she threw him over offhandedly without even a Dear-John letter
    replied offhand, his mind a million miles away
  2. without previous thought or preparation
    she had made these remarks offhandedly
    we decided offhand to go to Canada
    couldn't give the figures offhand
ADJECTIVE
  1. with little or no preparation or forethought
    his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment
    offhand excuses
    an extemporary lecture
    an extempore skit
    a few unrehearsed comments
    trying to sound offhanded and reassuring
    an off-the-cuff toast
    an extemporaneous piano recital
    an impromptu speech
  2. casually thoughtless or inconsiderate
    an offhand manner
    she treated most men with offhand contempt
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How To Use offhanded In A Sentence

  • There is a certain irritating sort of journalist - perhaps unfairly, Zoe Williams of the Guardian is the first name that springs to mind - who affects an adolescent offhandedness in his of her writing. Simon Titley: Against jargon
  • she threw him over offhandedly without even a Dear-John letter
  • I offhandedly expostulated whilst continuing to read her two page monologue.
  • trying to sound offhanded and reassuring
  • Everyone in these offhanded portraits looked fabulous, in a debauched and groovy way, and even the characters who weren't familiar looked as they though should be, somewhere under the smeared mascara and opiated grins. The Club Everyone Wanted to Be In
  • He examines my belay and says offhandedly, ‘Guess I won't fall.’
  • When close to the whale, in the very death-lock of the fight, he handled his unpitying lance coolly and offhandedly as a whistling tinker his hammer.
  • she had made these remarks offhandedly
  • Consider for a moment that we may be watching for the wrong thing; it's not at all about the political issues, cameos or adlibs, but a dramatic story that unfolds so offhandedly it catches us unaware.
  • ‘If nothing else you have gall,’ he nodded and she gave a Cheshire smile to the offhanded compliment as he lit his cigar, the smell of it immediately coming to her attention.
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