closed off
Not letting in
Closed off describes something inaccessible or blocked from entry—a road closed off for construction, a room closed off to visitors.
More often it describes a person who is emotionally unavailable or unwilling to share feelings: He's been closed off ever since the divorce.
Someone closed off keeps others at a distance, refusing intimacy or vulnerability.
- shutTo close firmly
- shut downCease to operate
- sealedClosed to prevent entry
- blockedPassage prevented or impeded
- no entryAccess not permitted
isolated · withdrawn · guarded · inaccessible · barricaded · walled · distant · aloof · reserved · detached · remote · unreachable · locked · bolted · locked away · secretive · cold · cold shoulder
- Forbiddenforbidden, prohibited, banned, not allowed, taboo subject
- stuckjammed, clogged, trapped, stuck in mud, snowed in
- detachmentemotional numbness, detached, dispassion, disengaged, indifference
- emotional maskingmasking, suppression, repression, hiding, bottling up
- introversionintroversion, solitude, alone time, isolation, loner
- warinesscaution, wariness, guardedness, vigilance, watchfulness
closed offopen
Not closed
vulnerable · forthcoming · expressive · emotionally available · transparent
closed offwelcoming
Receiving others warmly
friendly · approachable · hospitable · inviting · receptive
closed offopen
Not closed
accessible · unblocked · passable · unrestricted · unobstructed
close, closed, off, closes, closing, closer, closest, closeness, enclose