detached

American  

[dih-tacht] / dɪˈtætʃt /

adjective

1. not attached; separated.

   a detached ticket stub.

   Antonyms:

   attached

2. having no wall in common with another building (attached ).

   a detached house.

   Antonyms:

   attached

3. impartial or objective; disinterested; unbiased.

   a detached judgment.

   Synonyms:

   unprejudiced, dispassionate, evenhanded, neutral, uninvolved

4. not involved or concerned; aloof.

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detached British  

/ dɪˈtætʃt /

adjective

1. disconnected or standing apart; not attached

   a detached house

2. having or showing no bias or emotional involvement; disinterested

3. social welfare working at the clients' normal location rather than from an office; not dependent on premises for providing a service Compare outreach

   a detached youth worker

4. ophthalmol (of the retina) separated from the choroid layer of the eyeball to which it is normally attached, resulting in loss of vision in the affected part

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Other Word Forms

• detachedly adverb
• detachedness noun
• undetached adjective

Etymology

Origin of detached

First recorded in 1700–10; detach + -ed ²

Explanation

If something is detached, it stands apart from something else. That goes for people, emotions, retinas, garages, and just about anything else that can be disconnected or uninvolved. In the simplest sense, detached means "not attached." Which is a fine state to be in if you're talking about houses (it means they're not connected, like row houses) or your neighbor's aggressive dog (who was chomping down on your leg a few minutes ago). But if a person is emotionally detached, be careful: They're not in touch with their own emotions, or very interested in understanding yours.

Example Sentences

“If he actually believed this stuff he had become significantly detached from reality.”

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026

Ozon gives it all a fascinatingly detached gloss so that our curiosity is well-tapped.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Emily and Stephen Boynton, who live in a leafy London suburb, decided to install a heat pump in their four-bedroom detached home during the pandemic.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

The agency’s mindset remains: evidentiary maximalism detached from clinical reality, indifference to patient urgency, and hostility to the flexibility Congress intended.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Natural history thus slowly detached itself from the wider world of learning and began to form an enclave on its own.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• abstract
• casual
• dispassionate
• distant
• impartial
• impersonal
• indifferent
• laid-back
• remote
• removed
• unbiased