Street voices
Janna
·
United States
Just recorded
"Nonchalant is when someone doesn't really show their emotions, they act like they don't really care about things, often act unimpressed, don't really show too much joy or too much sadness or whatever, they're just not showing much emotion in general, they're nonchalant. An example would be, oh my god guys, last night I cracked a joke in class and Jake was trying to act nonchalant, acting like it wasn't funny. Kind of see that he let out a little smirk, but he was trying a bit too hard to be nonchalant."
What it means
Used for someone acting cool, unbothered, or almost weirdly unreadable, like nothing can rattle them. It can be natural, but half the time people say it when someone's clearly pretending not to care and the act is doing too much. Online it often shows up as a compliment or a little drag, depending on whether the calm feels smooth or forced.
Usage examples
"I told him the whole class was dying laughing and he just sat there looking nonchalant, but that low key smirk gave the whole game away."
Editors of this term
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