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Showing results for standoffish. Search instead for stand-offish.
Synonyms

standoffish

American  
[stand-aw-fish, -of-ish] / ˈstændˈɔ fɪʃ, -ˈɒf ɪʃ /
Or stand-offish

adjective

  1. somewhat aloof or reserved; cold and unfriendly.

standoffish British  
/ ˌstændˈɒfɪʃ /

adjective

  1. reserved, haughty, or aloof

"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

Other Word Forms

  • standoffishly adverb
  • standoffishness noun

Etymology

Origin of standoffish

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

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.

Yet at the outset, the US appeared strikingly standoffish.

From BBC • May 11, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 29, 2024

For her latest movie, “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” Daisy Ridley plays Fran, a drab, standoffish, occasionally obnoxious office worker.

From New York Times • Feb. 10, 2024

Over the course of seven years, we saw them morph from standoffish children — often bullied because of the complexion of their skin — to two young, confident leaders.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2023

And Lauren, a standoffish girl who had always ignored me at the lunch table, could ask Tyler; I’d heard he was still available.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.