avoidant

British

/ əˈvɔɪdənt /

adjective

(of behaviour) demonstrating a tendency to avoid intimacy or interaction with others

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And I’m sorry that your ex’s choice to be avoidant is only making what I imagine to be a painful process that much more excruciating and drawn out.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026

These comparisons aren’t exactly nuanced but they are stark and, for most of the film, Franco just asks us to watch them move together and apart, in a strange, avoidant pas de deux.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Richter’s appeal is amply established, but statistically speaking, few expected the confessed dance avoidant to make it this far.

From Salon • Nov. 4, 2025

That might contribute to avoidant behaviours, as the individual is not sitting with how they actually feel.

From BBC • Oct. 2, 2025

When they said I had avoidant personality disorder, she told them I just hadn’t learned to be comfortable in my own skin.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023