standoffish en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /stænˈdɑ.fɪʃ/ (cot-caught-merger)
- /stænˈdɔ.fɪʃ/ (General-American)
- /stænˈdɔː.fɪʃ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /stænˈdɒf.ɪʃ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- ŏf (General-American)
- [steənˈdɑ.fɪʃ] æ-raising, cot–caught merger
Etymology
Etymology tree English stand off Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Middle English -isch English -ish English standoffish From stand off + -ish.
Meanings
-
Aloof; reserved; unsociable and unfriendly.
They were always a haughty family, stand-offish in a way, as they've a right to be.
1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter VII, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Germany?]: Privately printed, →OCLC, page 96:He was stand-offish with the other agents. They on their side said he was the manager’s spy upon them.
1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 213, columns 1–2:His initial impression was that he was a bit standoffish or not over effusive […]
1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 16: Eumaeus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 611:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most standoffish | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| stand-offish | alternative | lexicographic | |
| more standoffish | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
standoffishness · standoffishly
Relateds
Synonyms
touch-me-not-ish · distant · aloof · distant · quiet · strange · frosty · hard-to-get · unbending · cool · thorny · remote · unapproachable · uninvolved · offish · hankty · cold · standoffish · undemonstrative · unimpressionable
Translations (16)
es hurón (unsociable) · ga doicheallach (unsociable) · es huraño (unsociable) · es arisco (unsociable) · es apartadizo (unsociable) · es huraña (unsociable) · pl nietowarzyski (unsociable) · de spröde (unsociable) · bg резервиран (unsociable) · es antisocial (unsociable) · fi kylmäkiskoinen (unsociable) · bg сдържан (unsociable) · ga coimhthíoch (unsociable) · es hosco (unsociable) · de hochnäsig (unsociable) · de reserviert (unsociable)