standoffish
/stænˈdɒf.ɪʃ/US/stænˈdɔ.fɪʃ/
standoffish adjective: aloof; reserved; unsociable and unfriendly.
Adjective
standoffish (comparative more standoffish, superlative most standoffish)
- Aloof; reserved; unsociable and unfriendly.
- 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...
- 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
standoffish meaning in Tamil
standoffish in Tamil
- பணிவற்ற
Synonyms of standoffish
8 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of standoffish
| comparative | more standoffish |
|---|---|
| superlative | most standoffish |
| alternative form | stand-offish |
Origin of standoffish
From stand off + -ish.
Words formed from standoffish
Questions about standoffish
- What does standoffish mean?
- Standoffish means aloof; reserved; unsociable and unfriendly.
- What is standoffish in Tamil?
- Standoffish in Tamil is பணிவற்ற. See Standoffish meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is standoffish?
- Standoffish is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce standoffish?
- Standoffish is pronounced /stænˈdɒf.ɪʃ/ (UK).
Words near standoffish in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: standoffish (page history and authors); standoffish (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-standoffish.wav.
Cite this entry: “standoffish.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/standoffish. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.