Word Explorer

Offhand

/ˌɔfˈhænd/

Without planning or thinking ahead.

📖 Definitions of "Offhand"

adjective

1
Without planning or thinking ahead.
"She gave an offhand speech."
2
Careless; without sufficient thought or consideration.
"He doesn't realise how hurtful his offhand remarks can be."
3
Curt, abrupt, unfriendly.
"She was quite offhand with me yesterday."

adverb

1
Right away, immediately, without thinking about it.
"Offhand, I'd guess that that's a yellow-bellied sapsucker."
2
In an offhand manner.

10 synonyms found via WordNet and Google Books.

Word	Definition
careless	Not giving sufficient attention or thought, especially concerning the avoidance of harm or mistakes.
extemporaneous	With inadequate preparation or without advance thought; offhand.
off-the-cuff	(idiomatic) Extemporaneous; without prior preparation; spontaneous; impromptu.
extemporenoun	Carried out with no preparation; impromptu.
offhandedly	in an offhand manner
extemporary	Extemporaneous.
offhanded	In a casual or curt style, without preparation or thought; impromptu, offhand.
ad-libverb	Alternative form of ad lib. [To perform without a script.]
unpreparednoun	Not prepared; caught by surprise.
unrehearsed	Not rehearsed

Found via reverse dictionary — words that share a conceptual meaning.

Word	Definition
careless	Not giving sufficient attention or thought, especially concerning the avoidance of harm or mistakes.
unpreparednoun	Not prepared; caught by surprise.
unrehearsed	Not rehearsed
extemporaneous	With inadequate preparation or without advance thought; offhand.
extemporenoun	Carried out with no preparation; impromptu.
off-the-cuff	(idiomatic) Extemporaneous; without prior preparation; spontaneous; impromptu.
extemporary	Extemporaneous.
ad-libverb	Alternative form of ad lib. [To perform without a script.]
negligent	Careless or inattentive.
cavaliernoun	Lacking the proper care or concern for something important, reckless, rash, high-handed.
casualnoun	(of behavior, usage, or milieu) Informal; relaxed.
off-handed	(mining, now rare) Offhand.
ad hoc	For a particular purpose.
unreflectively	In an unreflective way.
seat-of-the-pants	(chiefly US, idiomatic) Done by feel, guess, or trial and error rather than by careful planning, thought or technique.
autoschediastic	(dated) impromptu, improvised, ex tempore or offhand
by the by	Incidental; unplanned.
drive-bynoun	Of a crime, etc.: carried out from a moving vehicle.
under-handed	Alternative form of underhanded. [In an underhanded manner.]
opportunistic	Taking advantage of situations that arise.