asociality
Preference for solitude
Asociality is the lack of interest in social interaction or the preference for solitary activities.
Unlike antisocial behavior, which actively violates social norms or harms others, asociality simply involves withdrawal or indifference toward social engagement: His asociality wasn't hostility—he just preferred his own company.
The term appears in psychology and casual usage alike.
Emotional separation between people
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
- disconnectionState of being severed
- disaffectionLoss of loyalty
- withdrawalAct of taking away
disengagement · remoteness · aloofness · indifference · coldness · unresponsiveness · rejection · exclusion
Tendency toward social timidity
- timidityFearful lack of courage
- bashfulnessTimid self-consciousness
- inhibitionMental check on behavior
- self-consciousnessUncomfortable awareness of oneself
diffidence · reserve · awkwardness · hesitance · wariness · guardedness · standoffishness · unapproachability
State of being alone
- introspectionObserving one's own mind
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- quietudeState of calm stillness
- self-reflectionExamining one's own mind
reserved · inwardness · reticence · thoughtfulness · self-containment · private · bookish · cerebral
Existing alone, apart
- independenceFreedom from external control
- self-relianceDepending on oneself alone
- self-sufficiencyIndependence from outside aid
- nonconformityRejection of prevailing norms
individualism · self-directed · unattached · self-contained · hermitic · monastic · eremitic
estrangement
Emotional separation between people
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
- disconnectionState of being severed
- disaffectionLoss of loyalty
withdrawal · disengagement · remoteness · aloofness · indifference · coldness · unresponsiveness · rejection · exclusion · marginalization
shyness
Tendency toward social timidity
- timidityFearful lack of courage
- bashfulnessTimid self-consciousness
- inhibitionMental check on behavior
self-consciousness · diffidence · reserve · awkwardness · hesitance · wariness · guardedness · standoffishness · unapproachability · unsociability
solitude
State of being alone
- introspectionObserving one's own mind
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- quietudeState of calm stillness
self-reflection · reserved · inwardness · reticence · thoughtfulness · self-containment · private · bookish · cerebral · pensive
solitary
Existing alone, apart
- independenceFreedom from external control
- self-relianceDepending on oneself alone
- self-sufficiencyIndependence from outside aid
nonconformity · individualism · self-directed · unattached · self-contained · hermitic · monastic · eremitic
asocialitysociality
Inclination toward community
sociability · gregariousness · social engagement · sociable · social
asocialityextroversion
Outward-focused temperament
outgoingness · extroverted · extraversion · outgoing · friendly
social, socially, unsocial, antisocial, antisocially, asocial, sociable, sociably, sociability