Aloof
at a distance, especially in feeling or interest; apart:
They always stood aloof from their classmates.
reserved or reticent; indifferent; disinterested:
Because of his shyness, he had the reputation of being aloof.
Contemporary Examples
The GOP lambasted the president for being too aloof and casual about leaks that endanger national security.
Stop Calling Obama Aloof! Paul Begala May 19, 2013
The collapse of the economy made her glossy, aloof brand look suddenly dated.
How Anna Turned It ‘Round Tina Brown September 10, 2009
Some of Downey’s muttery performances and Hoffman’s aloof Capote fit this category.
Mumbling Wins Oscars! Zachary Pincus-Roth March 2, 2010
Many Daley loyalists harbored deep suspicions about a fellow they deemed effete and aloof.
James Warren: Romney Attacks on Chicago Misguided James Warren July 17, 2012
But intangibles also count when a president, particularly one long viewed as aloof, has to do double duty as the mourner-in-chief.
Obama’s Next Impossible Speech Howard Kurtz January 12, 2011
Historical Examples
He knew them not; aloof, solitary, self-contained, he had coldly held himself outside the circle of all that was best in life.
Lone Pine R. B. (Richard Baxter) Townshend
Little Fay was as obstreperous as Tony was disagreeably silent and aloof.
Jan and Her Job L. Allen Harker
He stood, aloof, at one side of the veranda, as the newcomer alighted from the car.
Lad: A Dog Albert Payson Terhune
All the people who had seemed so warmly near to him were aloof and cold.
Despair’s Last Journey David Christie Murray
He seemed so aloof, as though his spirit walked alone in dark places where she could not follow.
Skyrider B. M. Bower
adjective
distant, unsympathetic, or supercilious in manner, attitude, or feeling
adj.
1530s, from a- (1) + Middle English loof “weather gage,” also “windward direction,” probably from Dutch loef (Middle Dutch lof) “the weather side of a ship.” Originally a nautical order to keep the ship’s head to the wind, thus to stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter; hence the figurative sense of “at a distance, apart” (1580s). Related: Aloofly; aloofness.
Read Also:
- Aloofness
the quality or state of being , distant, or reserved; indifference: His girlfriend’s recent aloofness may be a sign that the relationship is over. Historical Examples It is his aloofness that his audiences resent the most of all. Iconoclasts James Huneker She could scarcely endure the aloofness with which he had withdrawn into himself. Dust […]
- Aloofly
at a distance, especially in feeling or interest; apart: They always stood aloof from their classmates. reserved or reticent; indifferent; disinterested: Because of his shyness, he had the reputation of being aloof. Historical Examples aloofly though the Deanite lives, he is not altogether an unsocial being. Lippincott’s Magazine, December, 1885 Various Aubrey inquired, aloofly interested […]
- Alope
a daughter of Cercyon who was raped by Poseidon and bore a son, Hippothous. Historical Examples He also defeated at Alope the Locrians that had assembled to resist him. The History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides On the whole also they favour the view that ‘Alope’ is the Phthiotic Alope. The Heroic Age H. Munro […]
- Alopecia
loss of hair; baldness. Contemporary Examples Researchers have found that a drug approved for rheumatoid arthritis helped a patient suffering from alopecia halt his hair loss. Can This Arthritis Drug Cure Baldness? Erin Cunningham June 19, 2014 Historical Examples In front of the mart at the distance of 100 stadia is an island alopecia, a […]
- Alopecia areata
loss of hair in circumscribed patches. Historical Examples alopecia areata, on the other hand, affects both sexes with equal frequency, but affects them at different ages. The Sexual Life of the Child Albert Moll alopecia areata and morphœa have been observed associated with it. Essentials of Diseases of the Skin Henry Weightman Stelwagon alopecia areata […]