aloof

1. 1
   emotionally distantadjective

   Reserved and remote in manner, keeping other people at a distance, whether physically or emotionally.

   He was a polite but rather aloof neighbor who rarely stopped to chat.

   Reporters found the star cool and aloof during the press tour.

   UsageOften cool and aloof or remain aloof. It suggests coldness, while shy suggests nervousness.

   Similarreserved, remote

   Oppositefriendly, warm, approachable, sociable

   Note

   A position becomes a temperament in the adjective: whoever habitually stands at a distance from others turns into an aloof person. Like most adjectives it comes before its noun or after a verb, but it can also follow the noun, as in Lord Dunsany's Time and the Gods (1906): "It stands a city aloof." There it sets a place apart rather than describing anyone's manner. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • Lord Dunsany wrote Time and the Gods, first published in 1906. gutenberg.org
   • The exact sentence occurs in the work's narration, with aloof following city. gutenberg.org
   • The quotation describes the city's separation, rather than a person's manner. gutenberg.org
2. 2
   adverb

   At or from a distance, though a small one or one still within view; apart or away from others.

   The church stands aloof from the busy square, behind a row of tall trees.

   A few parents held aloof at the edge of the playground while the children played.

   UsageUsually stand aloof or keep aloof, with from before what is kept away: stand aloof from the crowd.

   Similarapart, away

   Note

   Distance is where the word starts, and it started at sea. Middle English loof was the windward side, and aloof was an order to keep a ship's head to the wind, clear of a lee shore. Ashore it became plain distance, as when Dryden's Aeneid has a palace stand aloof from streets. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Aloof derives from Middle English loof, referring to the windward direction. en.wiktionary.org
   • Aloof originated as a nautical order to keep a ship's head toward the wind, thereby avoiding a lee shore. en.wiktionary.org
   • The word acquired a general spatial meaning, illustrated by a palace standing apart from streets in Dryden's translation of the Aeneid. en.wikisource.org
3. 3
   adverb

   In an unsympathetic or unfavorable way.

   But to open the Bible in this spirit — to take the Book as from the hand of God, and then to look at it aloof, and with caution, as if throughout it were illusory and enigmatical, is the worst of all impieties.

   1832, Isaac Taylor, Saturday evening

   Note

   The distance in this adverb is one of judgment, not of place. To look at something aloof is to hold it at arm's length with suspicion, and Isaac Taylor's Saturday Evening calls looking at the Bible aloof and with caution the worst of impieties. It sits close to the standoffish adjective, but it describes how someone judges rather than how someone behaves. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Isaac Taylor wrote Saturday Evening. en.wikipedia.org
   • Taylor calls looking at the Bible aloof and with caution the worst of impieties. en.wiktionary.org

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