dismissive / repellent
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dismissive
To behave toward a person in an unfriendly, cool, and distant way, making contact or approach difficult.
Auf meine freundliche Frage reagierte er nur mit einem abweisenden Nicken.
He responded to my friendly question only with a dismissive nod.
repellent
The property of a material of not absorbing certain substances such as water or dirt, but instead making them bead off.
Die Oberfläche dieser Regenjacke ist stark wasserabweisend.
The surface of this rain jacket is highly water-repellent.
'Abweisend' is the present participle of the separable verb 'abweisen' (to reject), which means 'zurückweisen' (to turn away / reject) or 'ablehnen' (to refuse). This basic meaning of rejecting can be found in both uses of the adjective.
Der Türsteher musste leider einige Gäste abweisen.
Unfortunately, the bouncer had to turn away some guests.
When describing whom someone behaves dismissively toward, you use the preposition 'gegenüber' with the dative.
Sie war grundlos abweisend gegenüber ihren neuen Nachbarn.
She was dismissive toward her new neighbors for no reason.
In the meaning of 'not absorbing a substance', 'abweisend' is almost always used as the second part of a compound adjective. The best-known examples are 'wasserabweisend' (water-repellent) and 'schmutzabweisend' (dirt-repellent).
Für die Wanderung brauchst du eine schmutzabweisende Hose.
For the hike, you need dirt-repellent pants.
When 'abweisend' describes a person, it is often combined with nouns such as 'Haltung' (attitude), 'Blick' (look), 'Antwort' (answer), or 'Verhalten' (behavior).
Er gab mir nur eine kurze, abweisende Antwort.
He gave me only a short, dismissive answer.
cold
Both words describe someone who shows little personal closeness. “Distanziert” can neutrally describe a reserved attitude, while “abweisend” explicitly comes across as unfriendly and makes it difficult to approach the person. Use “kalt” when a lack of human warmth or a negative evaluation is also intended.
Nach dem Streit verhielt er sich abweisend und ließ seine Schwester nicht näher an sich heran.
After the argument, he acted dismissively and would not let his sister get any closer to him.
Nach dem Streit blieb er kalt und zeigte seiner Schwester keinerlei Wärme.
After the argument, he remained cold and showed his sister no warmth at all.
