as in distant
having or showing a lack of friendliness or interest in others
she was consistently surly and offish with the would-be suitors who came calling
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of offish
Richard’s other big ally is undervalued and initially stand-offish plant engineer Clarence C. Baker (Dennis Haysbert), who eventually warms to Richard’s interest in his machines, and who encourages him to think big.
—
Peter Debruge, Variety, 11 Mar. 2023
Guzmán said the stereotype that Germans are stand-offish is way off the mark.
—Soudi Jiménezescritor, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2022
But announcements on two continents in the last week show that showing the stand-offish situation is changing, with Royal Dutch Shell and General Motors hooking up in the US and BP buying into a BMW-Daimler charging joint venture in Europe.
—Michael Taylor, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2021
Off fans will also find a few cakes, including the show-offish Swedish Prinsesstårta.
—Kate Krader, Bloomberg.com, 13 Nov. 2020
The plaza between the two buildings makes the complex feel open and welcoming, not overbearing or stand-offish.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 4 Oct. 2020
Most of the mentor-teacher characters in kung fu films are extremely stand-offish and intimidating.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 1 July 2020
Peter Debruge, Variety, 11 Mar. 2023
Guzmán said the stereotype that Germans are stand-offish is way off the mark.
—Soudi Jiménezescritor, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2022
But announcements on two continents in the last week show that showing the stand-offish situation is changing, with Royal Dutch Shell and General Motors hooking up in the US and BP buying into a BMW-Daimler charging joint venture in Europe.
—Michael Taylor, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2021
Off fans will also find a few cakes, including the show-offish Swedish Prinsesstårta.
—Kate Krader, Bloomberg.com, 13 Nov. 2020
The plaza between the two buildings makes the complex feel open and welcoming, not overbearing or stand-offish.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 4 Oct. 2020
Most of the mentor-teacher characters in kung fu films are extremely stand-offish and intimidating.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 1 July 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offish
Adjective
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The trick was to keep them distant and yet connected, and find ways to not make the audience wait to see their chemistry, because the John Corbett and Sarah Jessica Parker chemistry is undeniable and a gift.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
29 May 2025
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Within 23 hours, the signals will be as far from Earth as NASA’s Voyager 1, the world’s most distant spacecraft at more than 15 billion miles in interstellar space.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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Established in 1980, Channel Islands National Park consists of five islands — Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel and more detached Santa Barbara — and the marine reserves which lie within 1 nautical mile of the group’s 175 miles of coastline.—
Paul Bersebach,
Oc Register,
4 June 2025
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Anderson built del Toro’s role around the actor, who repays him with a beauty of a performance, embodying the detached charisma of a morally dubious tycoon with cool ease.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
18 May 2025
Adjective
-
The October air was cold, the grass brown, but Emily’s face was hot and her breath fast.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2025
-
Marc: The beginning — when the titular character is crying, and then immediately switches from sobbing into the camera to being this cold and calculating person.—
Angelique Jackson,
Variety,
8 June 2025
Adjective
-
Woven Camisole and Shorts Pajama Set With hot Southern summers on the horizon, staying cool will quickly become the objective of many, especially when sleeping.—
Rebecca Jones,
Southern Living,
31 May 2025
-
Both teams have been able to keep their cool thus far.—
Ryan Stano,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 May 2025
Adjective
-
In the Colorado River Basin, April and May were very dry.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2025
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These innocuous-seeming actions can kindle dry vegetation, potentially spawning a wildfire.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
To serve, garnish with the reserved strawberry slices.—
Georgeanne Brennan,
Mercury News,
5 June 2025
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Related Stories John Oliver Compares HBO Max/Max Branding Fiasco to Trump's Renaming the Gulf of Mexico Ardant stars as Nathalie de Beauvillier, the manor’s reserved and eccentric lady, while Dequenne delivers one of her final screen performances as Odile, the spirited cook.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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Wins Best Film at Critics Awards for Arab Films Far from the bristling emotional potency of Petzold’s previous muse Nina Hoss, Beer can be an aloof, hard-to-read presence.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
17 May 2025
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One of the central conflicts begins when the cute five-year-old daughter, I-Jing (Nina Ye), is reprimanded by her otherwise aloof grandfather for being left-handed.—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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For children, especially, these stressors can quickly lead to meltdowns or withdrawn behavior.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
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My main criticism is its withdrawn camera, which is set too far away from the action in most stages.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
30 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Offish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offish. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
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