aloof
adjective
[ əˈluːf ]
• not friendly or forthcoming; cool and distant.
• "they were courteous but faintly aloof"
Similar:
distant,
detached,
unresponsive,
remote,
unapproachable,
forbidding,
stand-offish,
formal,
impersonal,
stiff,
austere,
stuffy,
withdrawn,
reserved,
unforthcoming,
uncommunicative,
indifferent,
unfriendly,
unsympathetic,
unsociable,
antisocial,
cool,
cold,
chilly,
frigid,
frosty,
haughty,
supercilious,
disdainful,
Origin:
mid 16th century: from a-2 (expressing direction) + luff. The term was originally an adverb in nautical use, meaning ‘away and to windward!’, i.e. with the ship's head kept close to the wind away from a lee shore etc. towards which it might drift. From this arose the sense ‘at a distance’.
