Pronunciation: /ˈɔːfɪʃ/

Definitions of offish

adjective showing a lack of friendliness or enthusiasm; reserved

Example Sentences

A1 The new student seemed a bit offish at first, but warmed up quickly.

A2 She gave offish replies when asked about her weekend plans.

B1 The manager's offish attitude towards customers was starting to affect business.

B2 Despite his offish demeanor, he was actually quite friendly once you got to know him.

C1 Her offish behavior towards her colleagues made it difficult to work together effectively.

C2 The offish tone of his emails made it clear that he was not interested in further discussion.

adverb in a manner that shows a lack of friendliness or enthusiasm

Example Sentences

A1 She looked offish when I tried to talk to her.

A2 The cat acted offish towards the new puppy.

B1 The customer service representative was a bit offish with me.

B2 He came across as offish during the job interview.

C1 Her offish demeanor made it difficult to approach her.

C2 Despite his offish behavior, he was actually quite friendly once you got to know him.

Examples of offish in a Sentence

formal Her offish demeanor made it difficult for others to approach her at the networking event.

informal I could tell by his offish attitude that he wasn't in the mood to talk.

slang She was acting all offish when I asked her about the party.

figurative The dark clouds looming overhead gave the sky an offish appearance.

Grammatical Forms of offish

past tense

offished

plural

offishes

comparative

more offish

superlative

most offish

present tense

offish

future tense

will offish

perfect tense

have offished

continuous tense

is offishing

singular

offish

positive degree

offish

infinitive

to offish

gerund

offishing

participle

offished

Origin and Evolution of offish

First Known Use: 1601 year
Language of Origin: Middle English
Story behind the word: The word 'offish' originated from Middle English, where it was formed by combining the prefix 'off-' with the word 'ish' to create a term meaning distant or unfriendly.
Evolution of the word: Over time, 'offish' has evolved to also suggest a sense of aloofness or standoffish behavior, beyond just being physically distant. It is often used to describe someone who is reserved or unapproachable.