kept away
Maintained one's distance
Kept away is the past tense of keep away, meaning to maintain distance from something or someone, or to prevent contact or approach.
She kept away from the edge of the cliff.
The security guards kept reporters away from the building.
The phrase suggests deliberate avoidance or exclusion over time.
- steer clearActively avoid something
- no trespassingPosted boundary warning
- off limitsProhibited from access
- segregatedForcibly kept separate
- separatedPut or kept apart
ostracize · banish · distance · at arm's length · quarantine · sequester · estrangement · exclude · isolate · shut out · shun · shield · bar · protect · exile · persona non grata · repel · deter
- kept at bayrepelled, fended off, warded off, staved off, held back