How to Use standoffish in a Sentence

standoffish

adjective

• She tends to be a bit standoffish with strangers.
• This kitty was too small, too young and too friendly – Joa was much more standoffish.
  — Michelle Matthews | [e-mail], al, 26 Apr. 2021
• Those who know Carman have described him as aloof or standoffish.
  — Hartford Courant, 10 May 2022
• The defensive record of five goals conceded in two games is a worthy one of a sluggish and standoffish side.
  — SI.com, 27 Aug. 2019
• Go ahead and be cool, but don't alienate people by being too standoffish.
  — Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive.com, 16 Aug. 2019
• Making that doctor a person with autism verges on making it a cheap gimmick, the latest spin on the standoffish Dr. House.
  — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 22 Sep. 2017
• The graphic tees are gone, so too are the shirtless male models, standoffish sales associates, and sizes that topped out at a women's 10.
  — Fortune, 24 Nov. 2021
• In the past, Rivers has been standoffish about his eventual replacement joining the team.
  — Dan Woike, latimes.com, 18 Apr. 2018
• Sometimes the customers from campus can come across as standoffish.
  — Chrissie Thompson, USA TODAY, 6 June 2021
• Light gets beat up at school; his teachers don’t understand him and his father is standoffish.
  — Clio Chang, New Republic, 28 Aug. 2017
• But the bustling, metropolitan vibe might not be right for everyone, and the locals can come across as standoffish.
  — Nina B. Lichtenstein, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2019
• Every standoffish adult survived as a chick by this cuddling.
  — Laura Erickson, Popular Science, 6 Nov. 2020
• Few neighbors wanted to speak on the record about the family, but several said the Toebbes were standoffish, more likely to ignore waves than to return them.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 11 Oct. 2021
• But on the level of urbanism, the building remains standoffish.
  — Carolina A. Miranda, latimes.com, 12 July 2019
• In Google’s earliest days its co-founders were standoffish at best with journalists.
  — Aaron Pressman, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2020
• Employees were instructed to be standoffish and aloof, to only speak to customers if spoken to first.
  — Washington Post, 23 Nov. 2021
• The four leads are all well cast and have great chemistry with one another, especially after Leighton stops being standoffish to the others a few episodes in.
  — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 17 Nov. 2021
• Researchers in Colorado noticed that in the early stages of chronic wasting disease, deer got a dull, vacant look in their eyes and appeared standoffish.
  — John Fauber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6 July 2017
• Karev was initially resented by his colleagues for his standoffish manner, but grew to form a rapport with them.
  — NBC News, 10 Jan. 2020
• The organization never knew what Kyrie was going to show up to the arena each night — the reflective one, the standoffish one, the friendly one, the philosophical one?
  — BostonGlobe.com, 26 May 2021
• This fall, when Dr. Smith met the boy’s parents at school and told them that medication could help their distracted, failing son, the father was standoffish and suspicious.
  — Jan Hoffman, New York Times, 26 June 2017
• Current and former neighbors in Wisconsin described him as gruff, standoffish and prone to losing his temper.
  — New York Times, 13 Apr. 2022
• In a less skilled actor's hands, Matt could read as standoffish or painfully shy and awkward, but Gilford grants him a quiet, gentle non-toxic masculinity.
  — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 24 May 2021
• Along with the costume (which, in actuality, was more a uniform) came a gee-whiz presentation that managed the unique feat of being at once disarming and standoffish.
  — Corey Seymour, Vogue, 15 May 2018
• Spiders may communicate back and forth along a silk thread during courtship, so a male can test the waters before approaching a standoffish female to avoid getting eaten.
  — Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Oct. 2021
• Vets warn, though, that the Chessie personality is much more standoffish and has a stronger temperament than the Lab, and is also extremely hard to train—don’t get this breed as your first dog and be prepared to spend some time training hardcore.
  — Mattie Schuler, Outside Online, 1 May 2013
• Standoffish with the camera, for most of the film Beckey largely avoids self-reflection outside of describing his climbing trips in impressive detail.
  — Evan Bush, The Seattle Times, 31 May 2017
• As she is assigned to this family, viewers discover Penny’s skewed thoughts and standoffish behavior towards those who are not like her.
  — Ni’kesia Pannell, Woman's Day, 3 July 2020
• But cuttlefish are easier to grow in the lab than squid and easier to work with than octopuses, which are often standoffish and may refuse to engage with an experimenter, Dr. Schnell said.
  — New York Times, 9 July 2021
• Atkins, who is extremely reserved by nature, seemed disinterested at first, maybe even a bit standoffish.
  — Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, 17 Mar. 2022

Last Updated: 5 Sep 2024