to distance oneself from
75
7.0
- phrasal verb
:
distanciarse de
- I think she's distancing herself from me.
- try to distance oneself from
- seek to distance oneself from
- distance oneself from family
Examples
-
Audrey walked toward another pavilion so as to distance herself from her mother.
Fiction book (1997) -
Upon joining a GALA chorus, such singers often want to distance themselves from religious traditions that discriminated against them.
Academic text (2015) -
Why did you always distance yourself from me, John?
-
I just spent so many years, so many years trying to distance myself from the person I was.
-
Boys, especially at this point, are programmed also to distance themselves from their parents.
Academic text (2008) -
Indeed, for years before the crisis, they had been distancing themselves from it.
Academic text (2011) -
He wants to distance himself from them as a means of protecting himself.
-
All of these factors allowed or encouraged donors to distance themselves from the Moi regime.
Academic text (1992) -
Education provided an opportunity to distance oneself from the everyday toil of work life.
Academic text (1995) -
After realizing the harm she caused, she decided to distance herself from those negative influences in her life.
Synonyms
590
1.6
Keep a distance from people or things you want to avoid
481
2.9
To move apart or stop being together
466
2.8
To stop taking part in a place or activity
384
2.3
Avoid going near people or places for safety
356
2.8
Move away from someone, or stop taking part in something
256
4.2
To keep someone or something apart from others
86
3.5
To move away from people or a place to create space
82
5.3
To stop being part of or connected to something
77
5.7
To make yourself less involved with someone or something
59
4.6
To separate yourself completely from someone or something
43
3.2
To stop other people from getting close to you emotionally
32
3.9
To stay away from people or things to avoid close contact
16
7.0
To end a connection with a person, group, or idea
15
3.7
To refuse to have anything to do with someone or something
3
6.7
To stop being involved with a person, group, or idea
1
7.5
To stop feeling close to someone or something
Stop seeing yourself as part of a group or role
To create distance from someone or something to avoid being too close
To keep yourself away from other people on purpose
Antonyms
How Distant
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'distance' (to withdraw/disengage), the reflexive 'oneself' (referring back to the subject), and 'from' (indicating separation), yielding the predictable sense 'to separate oneself from'. This verb + reflexive + preposition pattern is common in English and cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
Distance oneself from comes from the simple image of using distance — taking a step back so there is more space between oneself and someone or something. That's why it now means 'to separate yourself emotionally or socially'.