German word

distanzieren

Pronunciation

IPA/dɪstanˈtsiːʁən/

Meaning

  • verbdistance oneself

Example

Ich distanziere mich von seiner Meinung.

I distance myself from his opinion.

Illustration for distanzieren (distance oneself)

More examples

Viele Künstler distanzierten sich von dem Skandal.

Many artists distanced themselves from the scandal.

Core concept

A speaker steps back from a view or group and marks a clear boundary instead of sharing its position.

Common phrases

  • sich distanzieren von

    distance oneself from

Similar words

abgrenzen: Set personal or ideological boundaries and limit involvement with others.
ablehnen: Clearly reject an offer or opinion.
ignorieren: Deliberately give no attention or response to someone's words or actions.
meiden: Avoid a person, place, or topic to prevent contact.

Definition in German

Sich gedanklich oder emotional von jemandem oder etwas abgrenzen; meist reflexiv gebraucht, um Abstand oder Ablehnung auszudrücken

Word origin

Distanzieren is a German verb formed from Distanz 'distance' with the productive ending -ieren; Distanz ultimately comes from Latin distantia through French.

Usage tips

  • The reflexive pronoun changes with the subject, as in ich distanziere mich, but the object after von remains dative.

Other meanings

  • dissociate oneselfverb

Opposites

  • solidarisierenally oneself withverb

Related words

  • Distanzdistancenoun
  • Distanzierungdistancingnoun
  • distanzierenddistancingadjective

Word lists with this word