pokerishadj.1
/ˈpəʊk(ə)rɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈpoʊkərɪʃ/ Resembling a poker; esp. inclined to be stiff and unyielding in manner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > discourtesy > [adjective] > not affable
strange1338
estrangec1374
formal?1518
cold1557
squeamish1561
icy1567
buckrama1589
repulsive1598
starched1600
unaffable1603
stiff1608
withdrawing1611
reserved1612
aloof1639
cool1641
uncordial1643
inaffable1656
staunch1659
standfra1683
distant1710
starcha1716
distancing1749
pokerish1779
buckramed1793
angular1808
easeless1811
touch-me-not1817
starchy1824
standoffish1826
offish1827
poker-backed1830
standoff1837
stiffish1840
chilly1841
unapproachable1848
hedgehoggy1866
sticky1882
hard-to-get1899
stand-away1938
princesse lointaine1957
1779 F. Burney Let. 10 Oct. in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1994) III. 358 We saw..Honour Brudenel, looking more stiff & Pokerish than ever.
1853 C. W. Eliot Let. in H. James Charles W. Eliot (1930) I. ii. 48 You won't understand the first doubtful attempts of a stiff, pokerish, glum, unattractive young man.
1888 Cent. Mag. May 35/1 Ella called her ‘stiff and pokerish’.
a1908 Let. in E. Terry Story of my Life (1908) viii. 203 She was..more than a little stiffly pokerish.
1992 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 20 May b1 Canadians, Danes, Belgians, the Dutch and the Swiss are the most phlegmatic, the most pokerish of face, with the iciest of demeanor of any peoples in the world.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
pokerishadj.2
/ˈpəʊk(ə)rɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈpoʊkərɪʃ/ U.S. colloquial. Now rare.
Mysterious and frightening; eerie, uncanny; (of a person) affected with a mysterious dread.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > [adjective] > uncanny
eldritch1508
eerie1792
erlisha1802
unearthly1802
weird1817
pokerish1825
weirdly1831
uncanny1843
spooky1854
weird-like1854
wisht1872
unheimlichc1877
weirdsome1885
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of being eerie > [adjective]
unked1574
iry1603
wanchancy1768
eerie1792
eerisome1818
pokerish1825
unco1828
oorie1843
spooky1854
creepy-crawly1902
1825 J. F. Cooper Lionel Lincoln II. xiii. 198 I can't say I ever saw the cannon itself, but I have seen the bombs fifty times; and pokerish-looking things they be, especially in a dark night.
1833 H. Barnard in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1918) 13 352 I feel quite pokerish in this region.
1874 B. Taylor Prophet iv. vi A pokerish place! There's something in the air Breeds thoughts of murder.
1891 E. S. Ellis Check No. 2134 96 I feel pokerish tonight.
1948 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 3 July 31/1 It appeared to me to be distinctly ‘pokerish’. He gave no sign that would show how his mind was working.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.11779adj.21825