distancing
v.v. to move away from someone or something, either physically or in your mind. You do this when you want to show you are not connected to an idea or a person anymore.
v. to establish or maintain a physical or emotional space between oneself and another entity. Often used reflexively with 'oneself' to indicate a withdrawal of support or association from a group or ideology.
He is distancing himself from his old friends.
The politician spent the afternoon distancing herself from the controversial comments made by her campaign manager.
By adopting a more clinical tone in the final chapters, the author succeeds in distancing the reader from the protagonist's increasingly erratic and violent behavior.
Often used in the reflexive form ('distancing oneself') and typically takes the preposition 'from'.
He is distancing of the projectHe is distancing himself from the projectThe verb requires the preposition 'from' and is almost always used reflexively when describing a person's choice to separate themselves from something.