How do I avoid someone I don't want to date?

There are some people who can be insistent about showing their feelings for you. This can be problematic when you do not have any sense of attraction with the person. You need to be direct but still polite enough to let the person know that you just do not feel the same way. You can express that you are flattered with the attention that the person is giving to you but you are not interested to go out.

You can pause for a moment before you give your answer. This will already let the person know that you are hesitant to go out on a date. You do not need to give a lengthy explanation of why you are turning the person down. You just need to state the truth and not add anything else to your explanation anymore.

I don’t think you should avoid someone you don’t want to date because they might think you are playing hard to get. I think you should confront the person and talk to them in an open and honest way. Of course, they will be disappointed and their feelings will probably be hurt, but I do believe it’s possible to let them down easily.

For example, you can explain, nicely, why you don’t want to date them. For certain, you don’t want to lie and say you don’t feel like dating anyone right now. If they happen to find out you’re dating someone else, they will know you were not honest and they might get angry with you.