- far away in space or time
- the distant sound of music
- distant stars/planets
- The time we spent together is now a distant memory.
- (formal) The airport was about 20 kilometres distant.
- a star 30 000 light years distant from the Earth
- (figurative) Peace was just a distant hope (= not very likely).
Extra Examples- It was only a few miles away but it seemed unimaginably distant.
- The sound of the engine was growing more and more distant.
- The stars are more distant from the earth than the sun.
- These sites were often several miles distant from each other.
- geographically distant areas of the world
- in far distant lands
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- sound
- become
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- from
- two miles distant
- three days distant
- etc.
- …
- distant (from something) not like something else synonym remote
- Their life seemed utterly distant from his own.
- The medieval mind can seem impossibly distant.
- [only before noun] (of a person) related to you but not closely
- a distant cousin/aunt/relative
- not friendly; not wanting a close relationship with somebody
- Pat sounded very cold and distant on the phone.
- He became emotionally distant from his friends and family after the illness.
Extra Examples- When they met, he was very cold and distant.
- He felt oddly distant from her.
- Their relationship has grown increasingly distant in recent years.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- look
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- cold and distant
- not paying attention to something but thinking about something completely different
- There was a distant look in her eyes; her mind was obviously on something else.
- He seemed distant and distracted.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- look
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- cold and distant
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin distant- ‘standing apart’, from the verb distare, from dis- ‘apart’ + stare ‘stand’.
Idioms
See distant in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee distant in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishthe (dim and) distant past
- a long time ago
- stories from the dim and distant past
- In the distant past this land was covered in forests.
in the not too distant future
- not a long time in the future but fairly soon
- I hope we’ll see each other again in the not too distant future.
Extra Examples- In the not too distant future, we may witness the cloning of human beings.
- We will be moving house in the not too distant future.
Check pronunciation:
distant