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Glite Dictionary
🚫 Against social rules 🙇 Preferring to be alone
asocial

asocial

1 7.5
Not interested in other people and often breaks social rules
  • adjective
  • /ˌeɪˈsoʊʃəl/
translation icon : asocial
  • His asocial tendencies made it difficult for him to make friends at school.
  • asocial behavior

Examples

  • Thinking further about this, deterrence probably works with people who may be somewhat inclined towards "petty crime"—i.e., the slightly asocial types.

    Blog text (18)

  • Second, gambling is increasingly asocial.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The stereotypes of the gifted child as puny, asocial, or pre-psychotic are unfounded.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Tocqueville says that the history of democracy culminates in individualism, an apathetic, asocial existence without love or hate.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The discovery that humans are historical—as opposed to natural—beings depends on Rousseau's elaboration of all that is implied by the idea that human beings are by nature asocial.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Many people find it hard to connect with someone who displays such asocial behavior in social gatherings.

  • The scientist's asocial nature led him to prefer working alone in his lab rather than collaborating with others.

Synonyms

antisocial
vsasocial
17 6.9

Behaving in ways that harm other people or public property

can be hostile or simply uninterested and not break others' rights
unsocial
vsasocial
1 4.8

Prefers being alone and avoids spending time with others

may avoid people but also act disruptively or ignore normal rules

Antonyms

gregarious
11 7.0

A person who likes being with other people

How Social

gregarious
11 7.0
sociable
21 1.6
reserved
3.7
unsociable
2 5.3
antisocial
14 5.1
asocial
1 7.5

Surface Forms

asocial positive
asocialer comparative
asocialest superlative

Morphology

asocial = social (semi-transparent) = a + social

Formally a- + social is clear, but the sense 'actively hostile or disruptive' overlaps with 'antisocial' and the specific hostile nuance is not fully predictable from just 'not social'.

Etymology

Asocial comes from the prefix a- meaning 'not' and the root social, which comes from a word for 'companion' and appears in society and associate. So, asocial literally means 'not wanting company', which is why it describes people who avoid or break social rules.