distant

American  

[dis-tuhnt] / ˈdɪs tənt /

adjective

1. far off or apart in space; not near at hand; remote or removed (often followed byfrom ).

   a distant place; a town three miles distant from here.

2. apart or far off in time.

   distant centuries past.

3. remote or far apart in any respect.

   a distant relative.

4. reserved or aloof; not familiar or cordial.

   a distant greeting.

   Synonyms:

   withdrawn, cool

5. arriving from or going to a distance, as a communication, journey, etc..

   I have here a distant letter from Japan.

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distant British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• distantly adverb
• distantness noun
• overdistant adjective
• overdistantly adverb
• quasi-distant adjective
• quasi-distantly adverb
• ultradistant adjective
• undistant adjective
• undistantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of distant

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English dista(u)nt, from Anglo-French, from Latin distant-, stem of distāns “standing apart,” present participle of distāre “to stand apart,” from di- di- ² + stāre “to stand”; stand

Explanation

Distant describes something that's far away, like another planet, a ship far out at sea, or the cousin who never calls or shows up for family events. Time, like miles, can make something distant. People get excited during awards season, but most have at best a distant recollection of who won Oscars two years ago — meaning the memory is remote. If you've ever been accused of seeming distant, how were you acting at the time? Distracted, not showing much interest or patience, bored? Too many experiences like that and once-close friends will become distant, meaning they'll drift apart.

Example Sentences

One of the biggest challenges in the search for extraterrestrial life is determining whether features observed on distant planets truly point to living organisms.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

“The tentative pickup in existing-home sales towards the end of last year now looks like a distant memory,” said Oliver Allen, senior U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

There’s only so much distant suffering anyone can take in.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

Mr. Shamji’s lawyer, also named Brettler, turned out to be a distant relative of Matthew.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Tracts of undeveloped land opened to a distant darkness off one side of the road, and I suddenly felt alone and in the middle of nowhere.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• far
• far-flung
• far-off
• inaccessible
• isolated
• obscure
• remote
• removed
• secluded