Meaning of distant in English

distant

adjective

/ˈdɪs.tənt/ us

/ˈdɪs.tənt/

distant adjective (NOT CLOSE)

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far away:

a distant country

She could hear the distant sound of fireworks exploding.

part of your family but not closely related:

a distant relative/cousin

in the distant past/future

far away in the past or future:

At some point in the distant future I would like to have my own house.

in the not-too-distant future

quite soon:

They plan to have children in the not-too-distant future.

More examplesFewer examples

In their little boat they planned to voyage to distant lands.
She heard the wind whistling through the trees and the howl of a distant wolf.
She said we were nearly there, but the island was still no more than a distant smudge on the horizon.
Looking southeastwards, they could see the distant mountains.
We could hear the rumble of distant thunder.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Distant in space and time

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Family: relations in general

distant adjective (NOT FRIENDLY)

used to describe someone who does not show much emotion and is not friendly:

She seemed cold and distant.

Synonyms

aloof
detached (WITHOUT EMOTION)
forbidding
offhand 
offish UK
remote  (NOT FRIENDLY)
standoffish informal disapproving
unapproachable

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

not liking or being pleasant towards others

unfriendlyThe crowd was unfriendly and dangerous.
coolShe was very cool towards his new wife.
coldShe's a cold, heartless woman.
icyHe gave me an icy stare.
glacialHer reception of him was glacial.

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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Not being friendly

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Not showing or feeling emotions

(Definition of distant from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

distant | American Dictionary

distant

adjective

/ˈdɪs·tənt/

Add to word list Add to word list

far away in space or time:

She dreamed of traveling to distant lands.

We could hear the sound of distant thunder.

Someone whose manner is distant does not show much emotion and is not friendly.

(Definition of distant from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of distant

distant

Also, an expanding navy would require coaling stations and bases in distant lands.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Since 2ó is rather distant from 6ó, however, this result may not be reliable.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

While their early attempts at producing word forms may be fairly distant from the adult versions, they generally share sounds in common.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Moreover, this model of narrative authority is not that distant from our own.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Four out of the five were found close together in the channel filling and the fifth approximately 10 ft distant.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In effect, there was a local frontier, albeit owned by parents, and a distant one that was dangerous.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

He added a call for pragmatism, 'an unlikely and distant possibility can never be an argument against a present advantage'.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

They are the subject of their own allegory, the distant, marvellous, magical representation which stands for everything and explains nothing, perfect in their ultimate irreducibility.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Is the resemblance too distant to give the point any substantial interest?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The" form" was linked to real people, not distant" researchers", and the whole project was owned by everyone involved.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

History sometimes exhibits weird symmetries between events distant from one another in place and time.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Cells most distant from the basement membrane showed no staining (white arrowhead).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The impact of the international politics of the cold war upon most developing countries was rather distant.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The preference between candidates at the same level or at neighbouring levels was weak, while that between candidates at more distant levels was strong.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

News of more distant forthcoming premieres is given more briefly; full details will be found in subsequent issues.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of distant

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of distant?

Translations of distant

in Chinese (Traditional)

遙遠的, 遙遠的，遠方的, 遠房的，遠親的…

in Chinese (Simplified)

遥远的, 遥远的，远方的, 远房的，远亲的…

in Spanish

lejano, distante, remoto/ota [masculine-feminine]…

in Portuguese

distante, longínquo, distante [masculine-feminine]…

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दूर, लांबचा, लांबची…

（空間的、時間的に）遠い, 遠（とお）い, 冷（つめ）たい…

uzak, mesafeli, uzak akraba…

lointain/-aine, distant/-ante, éloigné…

llunyà, distant…

ver, verafgelegen, afstandelijk…

தொலைவில், உங்கள் குடும்பத்தின் ஒரு பகுதி ஆனால் நெருங்கிய தொடர்புடையது அல்ல, அதிக உணர்ச்சிகளைக் காட்டாத மற்றும் நட்பாக இல்லாத ஒருவரை விவரிக்கப் பயன்படுகிறது…

दूर, परिवार का हिस्सा लेकिन नज़दीकी संबंध नहीं, रूखा…

દૂર, પરિવારનો ભાગ છે પરંતુ નજીકનો સંબંધ નથી, અતડું/ઉષ્માવિહોણું…

fjern, langt fra…

avlägsen, fjärran, långt bort…

jauh, renggang, dingin…

entfernt, zurückhaltend…