offhand
/ˌɔfˈhænd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.63 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Careless; without sufficient thought or consideration.
adj
Curt, abrupt, unfriendly.
adv
Right away, immediately, without thinking about it.
adv
In an abrupt or unfriendly manner.
Example Sentences
- "She gave an offhand speech."
- "He must also be fluent in obscenity, offhand in sex. Most important of all, he must play tough."
- "He doesn't realise how hurtful his offhand remarks can be."
- "In September 2019, on the papal plane en route to Mozambique, Francis acknowledged the sharp opposition he faced from conservative detractors in the United States in an offhand remark. He said, it was “an honor that the Americans attack me.”"
- "She was quite offhand with me yesterday."
- "Offhand, I'd guess that that's a yellow-bellied sapsucker."
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɔfˈhænd/