aloof
/əˈluːf/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.99 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
adv
Without sympathy; unfavorably.
adj
Either physically or emotionally remote: distant, standoffish.
Example Sentences
- "Sisyphus also I saw, with unwelcomest taskage tormented, / Toilsomely hoisting aloof, unassisted, a ponderous round stone."
- "The noise approaches, tho' our palace stood Aloof from streets, encompass'd with a wood"
- "Mother[…]considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, from which every Kensingtonian held aloof, except on the conventional tip-and-run excursions in pursuit of shopping, tea and theatres."
- "But to open the Bible in this spirit — to take the Book as from the hand of God, and then to look at it aloof, and with caution, as if throughout it were illusory and enigmatical, is the worst of all impieties."
- "None may ever hear the speech of the poets of that city, to whom the gods have spoken. It stands a city aloof. There hath been no rumour of it—I alone have dreamed of it, and I may not be sure that my dreams are true."
- "Rivetus […] would fain work himself aloof these rocks and quicksands."
Etymology
From Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably from Middle Dutch (Compare Dutch loef (“the weather side of a ship”)), originally a nautical order to keep the ship's head to the wind, thus to stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter, hence the figurative sense of "at a distance, apart".
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
Inflected Forms
more aloof (comparative)
most aloof (superlative)