Synonyms: far-off, far, remote, removed More Synonyms of distant
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
You use distant to describe a time or event that is very far away in the future or in the past.
There is little doubt, however, that things will improve in the not too distant future.
Last summer's drought is a distant memory.
Synonyms: faint, vague, dim, uncertain More Synonyms of distant
3. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
A distant relative is one who you are not closely related to.
He's a distant relative of the mayor.
They were distant cousins.
Synonyms: remote, slight, indirect More Synonyms of distant
distantlyadverb [usually ADVERB -ed]
His father's distantly related to the Royal family.
4. adjective [verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If you describe someone as distant, you mean that you find them cold and unfriendly.
He found her cold, ice-like and distant.
He is direct and courteous but distant.
Synonyms: reserved, cold, withdrawn, cool More Synonyms of distant
5. adjective
If you describe someone as distant, you mean that they are not concentrating on what they are doing because they are thinking about other things.
There was a distant look in her eyes from time to time, her thoughts elsewhere.
Synonyms: faraway, blank, abstracted, vague More Synonyms of distant
More Synonyms of distant
distant in British English
(ˈdɪstənt)
adjective
1.
far away or apart in space or time
2. (postpositive)
separated in space or time by a specified distance
3.
apart in relevance, association, or relationship
a distant cousin
4.
coming from or going to a faraway place
a distant journey
5.
remote in manner; aloof
6.
abstracted; absent
a distant look
Derived forms
distantly (ˈdistantly)
adverb
distantness (ˈdistantness)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Latin distāre to be distant, from dis-1 + stāre to stand
distant in American English
(ˈdɪstənt)
adjective
1.
having a gap or space between; separated
2.
widely separated; far apart or far away in space or time
3.
at a measured interval; away
a town 100 miles distant
4.
far apart in relationship; remote
a distant cousin
5.
cool in manner; aloof; reserved
6.
from or at a distance
a distant sound
7.
faraway or dreamy
a distant look
SIMILAR WORDS: far
Derived forms
distantly (ˈdistantly)
adverb
Word origin
ME distaunt < L distans: see distance
Examples of 'distant' in a sentence
distant
It means your relationship is condemned in the not too distant future.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
But that is for the more distant future.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But that looks a distant prospect.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
My father was a distant figure.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Despite the landslide referendum victory, this looks a distant dream.
The Sun (2016)
The future : so distant and yet so quick to arrive.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Set deep in space in the distant future, only two humans remain.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He was cold, distant and seemed unable to take pleasure in anything.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
And rumours persist that we may see him back at the Royal Ballet as a guest artist in the not too distant future.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Now it is a day when victory seems so far distant.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Sometimes only in retrospect is the significance of the genetic load that a distant relative carried understood.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
But this would all take place in the distant future.
Admiral Sandy Woodward, With Patrick Robinson ONE HUNDRED DAYS (2003)
More distant places will have a harder time of it.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Those days have seemed distant for some time.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He just protects himself by being aloof and distant.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Leicester and tries are becoming only distant cousins at the moment.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The next morning he was cold and distant.
The Sun (2014)
But that still looks are distant prospect.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There are also hints that men whose fathers were emotionally distant are more likely to get it.
The Sun (2012)
My relatives are distant geographically and not that close emotionally.
Christianity Today (2000)
But the plot takes a distant second place after the action.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It was as though they regarded us through the mists of a distant time.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
She is much more cold and distant than her husband.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
This leads to a poor understanding of the distant future and a poor understanding of things like inflation.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Sometimes a striker may look distant from the game and not look dangerous for a great deal of time.
The Sun (2012)
He gradually shuffled out of our lives, becoming more remote and more distant.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In the more distant past, fathers were expected to stay with the team.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Dar woke to a cry in the real world, but one far distant in the greying dawn.
Kerr, Katharine A Time of War (1993)
Her second album finds her heading out on wild, epic flights of imagination to far corners of distant galaxies.
The Sun (2009)
In other languages
distant
British English: distant /ˈdɪstənt/ ADJECTIVE
Distant means far away.
The mountains rolled away to a distant horizon.
American English: distant
Arabic: بَعِيد
Brazilian Portuguese: distante
Chinese: 在远处的
Croatian: udaljen
Czech: vzdálený
Danish: fjern
Dutch: afgelegen
European Spanish: lejano
Finnish: kaukainen
French: distant
German: entfernt
Greek: απομακρυσμένος
Italian: distante
Japanese: 離れた
Korean: 먼
Norwegian: fjern
Polish: odległy
European Portuguese: distante
Romanian: îndepărtat
Russian: отдаленный
Latin American Spanish: distante
Swedish: avlägsen
Thai: ห่างไกล
Turkish: uzak
Ukrainian: віддалений
Vietnamese: xa
All related terms of 'distant'
far distant
at, to, or from a great distance in space or time
distant land
You can use land to refer to a country in a poetic or emotional way.
distant past
The past is the time before the present, and the things that have happened .
distant prospect
A particular prospect is something that you expect or know is going to happen .
distant early warning
a US radar detection system to warn of missile attack
distant early warning line
distant early warning line, a network of radar stations situated mainly in Arctic regions to give early warning of aircraft or missile attack on North America
Chinese translation of 'distant'
distant
(ˈdɪstnt)
adj
[place]远(遠)的 (yuǎn de)
[future, past]久远(遠)的 (jiǔyuǎn de)
[relative, cousin]远(遠)房的 (yuǎnfáng de)
(= aloof)[person, manner]冷淡的 (lěngdàn de)
(= absent)[person, look]茫然的 (mángrán de)
1 (adjective)
Definition
far-off
the war in that distant land
Synonyms
far-off
far
people in far lands
remote
a remote farm in the hills
removed
abroad
out-of-the-way
far-flung
faraway
They had just returned from faraway places.
outlying
Refugees are making their way into the town from outlying areas.
afar
Opposites
close,
near
,
neighbouring
,
nearby
,
handy
,
adjacent
,
at hand
,
adjoining
,
nigh
,
just round the corner
,
proximate
,
within sniffing distance (informal)
2 (adjective)
Last year's drought is a distant memory.
Synonyms
faint
He became aware of the soft, faint sounds of water dripping.
vague
He could just make out a vague shape in the distance.
dim
His torch picked out the dim figures.
uncertain
He stopped, uncertain how to put the question tactfully.
obscure
The hills were just an obscure shape in the mist.
hazy
The air was filled with hazy sunshine and frost.
indistinct
The lettering is fuzzy and indistinct.
3 (adjective)
He's a distant relative.
Synonyms
remote
She looked so remote.
slight
indirect
4 (adjective)
Definition
remote in manner
He's direct and courteous, but distant.
Synonyms
reserved
He was unemotional and reserved.
cold
He became cold and unfeeling.
withdrawn
Her husband had become withdrawn and moody.
cool
People found her too cool, aloof and arrogant.
formal
He wrote a very formal letter of apology.
remote
stiff
They always seemed a little awkward with each other, a bit stiff and formal.
restrained
detached
The piece is written in a detached, precise style.
indifferent
People have become indifferent to the suffering of others.
aloof
He seemed aloof and detached.
unfriendly
She spoke in a loud, rather unfriendly voice.
reticent
She is so reticent about her achievements.
haughty
unapproachable
I think a lot of people find dentists very unapproachable.
standoffish
Opposites
warm
,
friendly
, intimate
5 (adjective)
Definition
abstracted
There was a distant look in her eyes.
Synonyms
faraway
She smiled with a faraway look in her eyes.
blank
He gave him a blank look.
abstracted
The same abstracted look was still on her face.
vague
He was an intelligent but rather vague Englishman.
absorbed
distracted
unaware
musing
vacant
a dreamy, vacant look
preoccupied
He was too preoccupied to notice what was going on.
bemused
He was looking at the boys with a bemused expression.
oblivious
She appeared oblivious to her surroundings.
dreamy
His face assumed a dreamy expression.
daydreaming
absent-minded
The laptop was exactly where its absent-minded owner had left it.
inattentive
These children were more likely to be inattentive at school.
6 (adjective)
Definition
far apart
not too distant from each other
Synonyms
apart
separate
We both live our separate lives.
scattered
distinct
The book is divided into two distinct parts.
dispersed
his widely dispersed business
disparate
Scientists are trying to pull together disparate ideas.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of absent-minded
Definition
inattentive or forgetful
The laptop was exactly where its absent-minded owner had left it.