standoffish

Or stand-off·ish

[stand-aw-fish, -of-ish]

adjective

1. somewhat aloof or reserved; cold and unfriendly.

standoffish

/ ˌstændˈɒfɪʃ /

adjective

1. reserved, haughty, or aloof

Other Word Forms

• standoffishness noun
• standoffishly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of standoffish¹

First recorded in 1855–60; standoff + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

Yet at the outset, the US appeared strikingly standoffish.

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"Prince did the same thing," he said, "I'm not saying Morgan Wallen is Prince, but we weren't surprised because Prince was notoriously kind of standoffish. It's just how he was."

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She describes herself as “prickly and standoffish, selectively extroverted, largely humorless.”

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"I suspect people may have thought 'oh he's pretty standoffish' but it's a combination of shyness and not knowing what to say," he said.

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I went from being very standoffish about him and not trusting him to really enjoying our conversations.

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Related Words

• aloof 
• antisocial