- not friendly or interested in other people synonym distant, remote
- He was a cold man, aloof and distant.
- She stayed aloof while the argument went on around her.
- Some people find her aloof and unfriendly.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- seem
- …
- somewhat
- a little
- slightly
- …
- from
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from a- (expressing direction) + luff ‘the edge of a type of sail next to the mast or stay’. The term was originally an adverb in nautical use, meaning ‘away and to windward!’, i.e. with the ship's head kept close to the wind away from a lee shore etc. towards which it might drift. From this arose the sense ‘at a distance’.
Idioms
See aloof in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarykeep/hold (yourself) aloof | remain/stand aloof
- to not become involved in something; to show no interest in people
- The Emperor kept himself aloof from the people.
Extra Examples- He has remained somewhat aloof from the business of politics.
- Some thought that Britain was standing aloof from Europe.
- There were many things that had kept her aloof and apart from the crowd.
- Angela remained aloof.
- She had always kept herself aloof from her colleagues.
Check pronunciation:
aloof