offish

adjective

ˈȯ-fish How to pronounce offish (audio)
Definition of offishnext
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of offish So long as that situation continues, the 43-year-old’s allegedly arrogant and stand-offish treatment of his players will not worry the club hierarchy too much. — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025 They weren’t being stand-offish, not at all. — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025 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
  1. distant
  2. detached
  3. cold
  4. cool
  5. dry
  6. reserved
  7. aloof
  8. withdrawn
Adjective
  • Nonlocality, whose experimental verification helped earn the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics, allows distant quantum systems to produce correlations that cannot be explained by classical physics alone.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 18 July 2026
  • That can change, but this is probably measured in decades, not years—and seems more distant today than in the recent past.
    — Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Fortune, 17 July 2026
Definition of distant
Adjective
  • Guests return year on year, generation on generation, making Coral Reef Club the perfect antidote to the detached, impersonal sheen of the modern chain resort.
    — Jonnie Bayfield, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 July 2026
  • Or a pig’s leg lying off to the side, detached and jittering, could resemble Ted’s leg.
    — Will Mackin, New Yorker, 28 June 2026
Definition of detached
Adjective
  • With the game clock frozen, Purple Reign’s offense went equally as cold.
    — Christian Marshall, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026
  • John Dillinger lay on a cold slab in the Cook County Morgue Monday.
    — Cassidy Alexander, AJC.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of cold
Adjective
  • Phaedra pleads with Porsha to at least keep it cool at her birthday dinner that evening, but Porsha can’t even promise that.
    — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 20 July 2026
  • If Spain keep cool, then Argentina run hot; a warm-blooded, emotional, often chaotic side where performances swing wildly within games, never mind from one match to the next.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of cool
Adjective
  • Source for add-on acquisitions comprising 75%+ of total buyout activity and PE dry powder figures.
    — Gustaf Lundberg Toresson, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • The fabric also has a spill-resistant treatment that keeps liquid on the surface long enough to blot with a dry cloth.
    — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 July 2026
Definition of dry
Adjective
  • The ArcLight helped pioneer premium modern multiplex features, including reclining stadium-style chairs, in-house gourmet dining and reserved seating.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 21 July 2026
  • May would shed her quiet and reserved manner, teaming up with strangers for tournaments.
    — Jo Yurcaba, NBC news, 18 July 2026
Definition of reserved
Adjective
  • Sources, who prefer to remain anonymous to protect relationships, recognise that Spence is an introverted character who can come across as quite aloof, and that this image may not help his cause in moments like these.
    — Elias Burke, New York Times, 15 July 2026
  • Her next film, 1941’s Two-Faced Woman, was an attempt by MGM to loosen up her famously aloof image.
    — JP Mangalindan, Entertainment Weekly, 9 July 2026
Definition of aloof
Adjective
  • The withdrawn earnings are taxed as ordinary income, the Treasury said.
    — Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 11 July 2026
  • Without daily contact with peers, some children become more withdrawn, lonely or emotionally flat.
    — John Samuels, Forbes.com, 8 June 2026
Definition of withdrawn

Browse Nearby Words

offings
offish
off-key
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Offish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offish. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All