1.
[syn: aloof, distant, upstage]
ADVERB (1)
1. in an aloof manner;
- Example: "the local gentry and professional classes had held aloof for the school had accepted their sons readily enough"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Aloof \A*loof"\, adv. [Pref. a- + loof, fr. D. loef luff, and so
meaning, as a nautical word, to the windward. See Loof,
Luff.]
1. At or from a distance, but within view, or at a small
distance; apart; away.
[1913 Webster]
Our palace stood aloof from streets. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. Without sympathy; unfavorably.
[1913 Webster]
To make the Bible as from the hand of God, and then
to look at it aloof and with caution, is the worst
of all impieties. --I. Taylor.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Aloof \A*loof"\, prep.
Away from; clear from. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
Rivetus . . . would fain work himself aloof these rocks
and quicksands. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Aloof \A*loof"\, n. (Zool.)
Same as Alewife.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
aloof
adv 1: in an aloof manner; "the local gentry and professional
classes had held aloof for the school had accepted their
sons readily enough"
adj 1: remote in manner; "stood apart with aloof dignity"; "a
distant smile"; "he was upstage with strangers" [syn:
aloof, distant, upstage]