Standard Lemma guide

standoffish

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /stænˈdɒf.ɪʃ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Received-Pronunciation: /stænˈdɔː.fɪʃ/
  • General-American: ŏf
  • General-American: /stænˈdɔ.fɪʃ/
  • cot-caught-merger: /stænˈdɑ.fɪʃ/
  • [steənˈdɑ.fɪʃ] æ-raising, cot–caught merger

1

adj

Meaning 1

Aloof; reserved; unsociable and unfriendly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cold, distant, aloof, cool, frosty, hankty, hard-to-get, offish, quiet, remote, standoffish, strange, thorny, touch-me-not-ish, unapproachable, unbending, undemonstrative, unimpressionable, uninvolved

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

lacking cordiality; unfriendly

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a standoffish manner

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: offish

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English stand off Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Middle English -ish English -ish English standoffish From stand off + -ish.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: сдържан (sdǎržan) — unsociable
  • Bulgarian: резервиран (rezerviran) — unsociable
  • Finnish: kylmäkiskoinen — unsociable
  • German: reserviert — unsociable
  • German: spröde — unsociable
  • German: hochnäsig — unsociable
  • Irish: coimhthíoch — unsociable
  • Irish: doicheallach — unsociable
  • Polish: nietowarzyski — unsociable
  • Spanish: huraño — unsociable
  • Spanish: huraña — unsociable
  • Spanish: antisocial — unsociable
  • Spanish: arisco — unsociable
  • Spanish: hosco — unsociable
  • Spanish: hurón — unsociable
  • Spanish: apartadizo — unsociable