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Definition
socially distant or uninterested in something that interests others — often thinking oneself superior to others- People who don't know her, think she is aloof from the rest of the team, but she is just focused on the game.
aloof = socially distant or uninterested
- She missed their warm relationship and was saddened by his aloofness.
- She focuses on her work and is aloof from office politics.
- Socs were always behind a wall of aloofness, careful not to let their real selves show through.S.E. Hinton -- The Outsiders
- But I kept aloof from their more foolhardy schemes for a while, and on pain of being called a girl, I spent most of the remaining twilights that summer sitting with Miss Maudie Atkinson on her front porch.Harper Lee -- To Kill a Mockingbird
- But Clara was aloof also from her fellow-workers.D.H. Lawrence -- Sons and Lovers
- (Unable to stand longer her mother's aloofness, slowly drops album on table, and moves quickly to L. of Mother) (Passionately) On, Mama, just look at me one minute as though you really saw me.Thornton Wilder -- Our Town
- This room was swept and fairly neat, for Crooks was a proud, aloof man.John Steinbeck -- Of Mice and Men
- Aloof from all this bustle, I am anointing Thy most immaculate feet With myrrh from a small bowl.Boris Pasternak -- Doctor Zhivago
- He paused as if counting those that were present, and then sat down aloof, with his eyes on the ground.J.R.R. Tolkien -- The Fellowship of the Ring
- Perhaps she'd be hounded someday as far as joining Tristero itself, if it existed, in its twilight, its aloofness, its waiting.Thomas Pynchon -- The Crying of Lot 49
- Jesus', breathing fast and hard of the dark dead furnace-breath of air, of night where the fierce aloof stars hung.William Faulkner -- Absalom, Absalom!
- In real life, she didn't look so pale and aloof—well, not most of the time, anyway.Rick Riordan -- The Hidden Oracle
- I feared she would be distant, aloof.Patrick Rothfuss -- The Name of the Wind
- Give me thy torch, boy: hence, and stand aloof;— Yet put it out, for I would not be seen.William Shakespeare -- Romeo and Juliet
- He was, they decided, not like them at all, and the detached and aloof manner in which he watched the snowfall made this palpable and self-evident.David Guterson -- Snow Falling on Cedars
- A man who can deal his partner and his adversaries any hand he pleases had better stand aloof from a friendly game!Agatha Christie -- Early Cases Of Hercule Poirot
- Presently, grave and aloof, walking very heavily, the lama joined himself to the chatter under the eaves, and they gave him great room.Rudyard Kipling -- Kim
- The doctors know that he is best with her, and when not actively engaged about him, stand aloof.Charles Dickens -- Bleak House
- He's trying to stay aloof, but his eyes show a hunger I've seen before.Simone Elkeles -- Perfect Chemistry
aloofness = emotional distance and lack of interest
(Editor's note: The suffix "-ness" converts an adjective to a noun that means state or degree of. This is the same pattern you see in words like darkness, kindness, and coolness.)
aloof = uninterested
aloofness = social distance (acting superior)
(Editor's note: The suffix "-ness" converts an adjective to a noun that means state or degree of. This is the same pattern you see in words like darkness, kindness, and coolness.)
aloof = socially distant or uninterested
aloof = socially distant — often thinking oneself superior to others
aloofness = emotionally distance
(Editor's note: The suffix "-ness" converts an adjective to a noun that means state or degree of. This is the same pattern you see in words like darkness, kindness, and coolness.)
aloof = thinking of himself as superior
(Editor's note: The suffix "-ness" converts an adjective to a noun that means state or degree of. This is the same pattern you see in words like darkness, kindness, and coolness.)