keeping distance
Maintaining personal space
Keeping distance means maintaining physical or emotional space between oneself and others.
Physically, it suggests staying far enough away to avoid contact or contagion: The signs reminded shoppers about keeping distance.
Emotionally, it describes deliberate reserve or detachment in relationships: She's been keeping distance from her family since the argument.
The phrase implies intentionality—distance that's actively preserved rather than incidental.
- standoffishUnfriendly in manner
- aloofEmotionally withdrawn, uninviting
- remoteDistant or controller
- coldLow temperature state
- detachedApart or uninvolved
withdrawn · reserved · apart · staying away · space · personal space · buffer · gap · avoiding · out of reach · lonely · isolation · boundaries · arm's length · estranged · guarded · untouchable · no man's land
- detachmentemotional numbness, detached, dispassion, disengaged, indifference
- nonparticipationnonparticipation, noninvolvement, noninterference, nonintervention, abstention
- warinesscaution, wariness, guardedness, vigilance, watchfulness
- personal spacepersonal bubble, buffer zone, comfort zone, proximity, nearness
keeping distanceembracing
Holding warmly, willingly accepting
hugging · approaching · closing in · touching · crowding
keeping distanceintimacy
Emotional closeness between people
opening up · bonding · connecting · warming up · befriending
keeping distanceengaging
Pleasantly attractive, compelling attention
participating · jumping in · committing · taking part · diving in
keep, keeping, keeps, kept, keeper, keepers, distance, distances, distant