aloof

Adjective · Adverb
Synonyms: distantupstage

WordNet 3.0

Adjective (1)

  1. remote in manner“stood apart with aloof dignity”“a distant smile”“he was upstage with strangers”Synonyms: distantupstage

Adverb (1)

  1. in an aloof manner“the local gentry and professional classes had held aloof for the school had accepted their sons readily enough”
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

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]
Aloof \A*loof"\, prep. Away from; clear from. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

Rivetus . . . would fain work himself aloof these rocks and quicksands. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

Aloof \A*loof"\, n. (Zool.) Same as Alewife. [1913 Webster]
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