offhand
English · Thesaurus
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offhand
- /ˌɔfˈhænd/ US
Rhymes with -ænd
Where it comes from
From Middle English *ofhande, *ofhende, from Old English ofhende (“absent, lost”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *abahandijaz. Equivalent to (and re-formed as) off- + hand. Cognate with Icelandic afhendur. Compare onhand.
adjective more offhand · most offhand · off-hand
-
Without planning or thinking ahead.
She gave an offhand speech.
Similar: impromptu
- Careless; without sufficient thought or consideration. He doesn't realise how hurtful his offhand remarks can be.
- Curt, abrupt, unfriendly. She was quite offhand with me yesterday.
Similar: extemporaneous, off-the-cuff
adverb more offhand · most offhand · off-hand
-
Right away, immediately, without thinking about it.
Offhand, I'd guess that that's a yellow-bellied sapsucker.
Similar: out of hand
- In an abrupt or unfriendly manner.
Thesaurus
adjective
Similar: extemporaneous, off-the-cuff
Translations
Every language
adj without planning or thinking ahead
| Español | indiferente, espontáneo, irreflexivo, a vuelapluma |
|---|---|
| Português | improviso |
| Français | spontané, sur-le-champ |
| Deutsch | schluderig, unüberlegt, spontan, unbesonnen |
adj careless
| Español | descuidado, insensato |
|---|---|
| Français | négligent |
| Deutsch | unvorsichtig, nachlässig, unüberlegt, unbesonnen |
| Русский | неосторо́жный neostoróžnyj |
adj curt, unfriendly
| Español | frío, displicente |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | unfreundlich |
| Русский | ре́зкий rézkij, гру́бый grúbyj, недружелю́бный nedruželjúbnyj |
adv without thinking about it
| Español | espontáneamente, a vuelapluma |
|---|---|
| Français | spontanément |
| Deutsch | schluderig, unüberlegt, spontan, unbesonnen |
Talk about this word "offhand." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/offhand. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. offhand. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/offhand "offhand." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/offhand.Cite this
@misc{offhand_2026,
title = {offhand},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/offhand},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
