English

Adjective

standoffish ‎(comparative more standoffish, superlative most standoffish)

1. Aloof; reserved; unsociable and unfriendly.
   • 1899, Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, section 1

     He was stand–offish with the other agents, and they on their side said he was the manager’s spy upon them.

   • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses, episode 16,

     His initial impression was that he was a bit standoffish or not over effusive.

   • 1928, D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover, ch. 7,

     They were always a haughty family, standoffish in a way, as they've a right to be.

Synonyms

• cold
• distant

Translations

Related terms

• standoffishness

See also

• standoff
• stand off

References

• “standoffish” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• “standoffish” in Microsoft's Encarta World English Dictionary, North American Edition (2007)
• "standoffish" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
• “standoffish” in the Compact Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2007)
• Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987–1996.