"standoffish" meaning in English

See standoffish in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /stænˈdɒf.ɪʃ/ [Received-Pronunciation], /stænˈdɔː.fɪʃ/ [Received-Pronunciation], /stænˈdɔ.fɪʃ/ [General-American], /stænˈdɑ.fɪʃ/ [cot-caught-merger], [steənˈdɑ.fɪʃ] [cot-caught-merger, æ-tensing] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-standoffish.wav Forms: more standoffish [comparative], most standoffish [superlative]
enPR: ŏf [General-American] Etymology: From stand off + -ish. Etymology templates: {{suffix|en|stand off|ish}} stand off + -ish Head templates: {{en-adj}} standoffish (comparative more standoffish, superlative most standoffish)
  1. Aloof; reserved; unsociable and unfriendly. Synonyms: cold, distant, aloof, stand-offish Derived forms: standoffishly, standoffishness Related terms: standoff, stand off Translations (unsociable): сдържан (sdǎržan) (Bulgarian), резервиран (rezerviran) (Bulgarian), kylmäkiskoinen (Finnish), reserviert (German), spröde (German), hochnäsig (German), coimhthíoch (Irish), doicheallach (Irish), huraño [masculine] (Spanish), huraña [feminine] (Spanish), antisocial [feminine, masculine] (Spanish), arisco [masculine] (Spanish), hosco [masculine] (Spanish), hurón [masculine] (Spanish), apartadizo [masculine] (Spanish)

Alternative forms

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "stand off",
        "3": "ish"
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  "etymology_text": "From stand off + -ish.",
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      "derived": [
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          "word": "standoffishly"
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        {
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "He was stand-offish with the other agents. They on their side said he was the manager’s spy upon them.",
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        {
          "ref": "1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter VII, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Germany?]: Privately printed, →OCLC, page 96:",
          "text": "They were always a haughty family, stand-offish in a way, as they've a right to be.",
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        "Aloof; reserved; unsociable and unfriendly."
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      "id": "en-standoffish-en-adj-hCDkFGf3",
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          "Aloof",
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          "unfriendly",
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        {
          "word": "standoff"
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          "word": "stand off"
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      "synonyms": [
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          "word": "cold"
        },
        {
          "word": "distant"
        },
        {
          "word": "aloof"
        },
        {
          "word": "stand-offish"
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      ],
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        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "sdǎržan",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "word": "сдържан"
        },
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "rezerviran",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "word": "резервиран"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "word": "kylmäkiskoinen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "word": "reserviert"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "word": "spröde"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "word": "hochnäsig"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "word": "coimhthíoch"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "word": "doicheallach"
        },
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          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "huraño"
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          "sense": "unsociable",
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          "word": "huraña"
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          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "tags": [
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            "masculine"
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          "word": "antisocial"
        },
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          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "arisco"
        },
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          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "hosco"
        },
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          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "tags": [
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          ],
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        },
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          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "unsociable",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
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        }
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      "enpr": "ŏf",
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      "ipa": "/stænˈdɔ.fɪʃ/",
      "tags": [
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  "word": "standoffish"
}
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  "derived": [
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      "word": "standoffishly"
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    {
      "word": "standoffishness"
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      "tags": [
        "comparative"
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    },
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      "form": "most standoffish",
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      "word": "standoff"
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      "word": "stand off"
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          "text": "He was stand-offish with the other agents. They on their side said he was the manager’s spy upon them.",
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        {
          "ref": "1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 16: Eumaeus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 611:",
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          "ref": "1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter VII, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Germany?]: Privately printed, →OCLC, page 96:",
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          "type": "quote"
        }
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        "Aloof; reserved; unsociable and unfriendly."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "Aloof",
          "aloof"
        ],
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          "reserved",
          "reserved"
        ],
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          "unsociable",
          "unsociable"
        ],
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          "unfriendly",
          "unfriendly"
        ]
      ],
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          "word": "cold"
        },
        {
          "word": "distant"
        },
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          "word": "aloof"
        }
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    }
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      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
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      "ipa": "/stænˈdɔː.fɪʃ/",
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      "enpr": "ŏf",
      "tags": [
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      "ipa": "/stænˈdɔ.fɪʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
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      "ipa": "/stænˈdɑ.fɪʃ/",
      "tags": [
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  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "stand-offish"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "sdǎržan",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "word": "сдържан"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "rezerviran",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "word": "резервиран"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "word": "kylmäkiskoinen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "word": "reserviert"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "word": "spröde"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "word": "hochnäsig"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "word": "coimhthíoch"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "word": "doicheallach"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "huraño"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "huraña"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "antisocial"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "arisco"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "hosco"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "hurón"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "unsociable",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "apartadizo"
    }
  ],
  "word": "standoffish"
}

Download raw JSONL data for standoffish meaning in English (4.4kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-20 using wiktextract (c15a5ce and 5c11237). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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