offish C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈɔfɪʃ/ UK /ˈɒfɪʃ/ See IPA manual Minimal pairs Sounds like office /s/ vs /ʃ/ Meanings 1 adj aloof or distant in manner; standoffish He seemed offish at the party, keeping to a corner alone. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · aloof or distant in manner;... aloofstandoffishdistantcoldreservedunfriendlydetachedremote ↔ Opposites friendlywarmcordialapproachableaffable Word family Derived forms offishnessoffishly Related forms standoffishoff Etymology AI details A 19th-century colloquial formation from the adverb/preposition 'off' plus the adjective suffix '-ish', conveying the sense of holding oneself 'off' or apart. off Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # offish **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈɔfɪʃ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈɒfɪʃ/ ## Meanings 1. aloof or distant in manner; standoffish ## Examples - He seemed offish at the party, keeping to a corner alone. ## Synonyms - aloof - standoffish - distant - cold - reserved - unfriendly - detached - remote ## Antonyms - friendly - warm - cordial - approachable - affable ## Derived Forms - offishness - offishly ## Related Forms - standoffish - off ## Roots and Affixes - Root: off ## Etymology A 19th-century colloquial formation from the adverb/preposition 'off' plus the adjective suffix '-ish', conveying the sense of holding oneself 'off' or apart. ## AI Etymology Offish is a 19th-century colloquial formation from the adverb/preposition 'off' plus the adjective suffix '-ish', conveying the sense of holding oneself 'off' or apart. Important recorded forms include off (Old English). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers aloof or distant in manner; standoffish. The wider family includes derived forms such as offishness and offishly and related words such as standoffish and off. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown