distant
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- far-off, abroad, far, faraway, far-flung, outlying, out-of-the-way, remote
- apart, dispersed, distinct, scattered, separate
- reserved, aloof, cool, reticent, standoffish, unapproachable, unfriendly, withdrawn

---

Contrasted words: close, near, nearby, next, nigh, adjacent, adjoining, contiguous, forward, presuming, pushy, self-assertive
Related Idioms: at a distance
Related Words: apart, isolated, obscure, out-of-the-way, retired, secret, secluded, sequestered, arrogant, haughty, proud, modest, retiring, shy

---

English Thesaurus: far, a long way, miles, in the distance, distant, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

dis‧tant W3 /ˈdɪstənt/ adjective
[Word Family: verb: distance; noun: distance; adverb: distantly; adjective: distant]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: distans, present participle of distare 'to stand apart', from stare 'to stand']

1. FAR AWAY far away in space or time:
the sound of distant gunfire
Her honeymoon seemed a distant memory.
That affair was in the dim and distant past (=a long time ago).
The President hopes to visit Ireland in the not too distant future (=quite soon).
distant from
stars that are distant from our galaxy

2. NOT FRIENDLY unfriendly:
After the quarrel Sue remained cold and distant.

3. NOT CONCENTRATING thinking deeply about something private, rather than about what is happening around you:
Geri had a distant look in her eyes.

4. RELATIVE [only before noun] not closely related to you Antonym : close:
a distant cousin

5. distant from something different from something or not closely connected with it:
The reality of independence was distant from the hopes they had had.
—distantly adverb:
We are distantly related.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

distant
adj.
I. far away in space
VERBS be, sound | become, grow The sound of the engine was growing more and more distant.
ADV. far (literary), very in far distant lands
increasingly | unimaginably It was only a few miles away but it seemed unimaginably distant.
geographically geographically distant areas of the world
PREP. from The stars are more distant from the earth than the sun.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

distant
II. far away in time
VERBS be
ADV. very | increasingly | fairly, not too in the not too distant future
PHRASES the dim and distant past stories from the dim and distant past

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

distant
III. not friendly/not paying attention
VERBS be, seem | become | remain | find sb
ADV. very | rather, slightly | strangely Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

distant

the distant past/future (=a long time in the past/future)
It is a fictional story set in the distant past.
In the distant future, there may be a cure for the disease.
a distant memory (=something that happened a long time ago)
Already the summer seemed like a distant memory.
distant mountains/hills
From here, you can look out to the distant hills.
a distant planet/galaxy/star
They saw telescope images of the distant planet Neptune.
a distant sound
Sometimes you can hear the distant sound of traffic from the main road.
distant thunder
Distant thunder rumbled over the mountains.
distant places
She loved the wild, distant places of Scotland.
a distant land literary (=a country that is a long way away)
He fled to a distant land.
in the dim and distant past humorous (=a long time ago)
Back in the dim and distant past when I was at school, computers didn’t exist.
in the not too distant future (=quite soon)
We’re expecting a final decision in the not too distant future.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

far adverb a long distance – used mainly in negatives and questions, or after ‘too’, ‘so’, and ‘as’:
It’s not far to the airport from here.
Have you driven far?
The ship was so far away we could hardly see it.
a long way adverb a long distance from somewhere. This is the most common way of talking about long distances, except in negatives and questions when far is also common:
You must be tired – you’ve come a long way.
It’s a long way down from the top of the cliff.
I can’t see things that are a long way away.
miles adverb informal a very long way:
We hiked miles.
The school is miles away from where I live.
in the distance adverb a long way from where you are now – used when talking about things that seem small or sounds that seem quiet because they are a long way away:
Dogs were barking somewhere in the distance.
distant adjective especially written used about something that is a long distance from where you are now, and looks small or sounds quiet:
By now, the plane was just a distant speck in the sky.
the rumble of distant thunder
faraway adjective especially written a very long distance from where you are now:
a traveller from a faraway land
His voice sounded faraway.
He told us stories about the faraway countries he had visited.
remote adjective a remote place is a long distance from other places, and few people go there:
The helicopter crashed in a remote part of the country.
remote holiday destinations
isolated adjective an isolated place is a long distance from other towns, buildings, or people, and there is very little communication with surrounding places:
isolated rural areas of Nepal
Occasionally we passed through a small isolated village.
If you travel to isolated areas, make sure you have a good guide.
off the beaten track (also off the beaten path American English) adverb a place that is off the beaten track is a long distance from the places where people usually go, and often seems interesting and different because of this:
She likes to go to places that are a bit off the beaten track.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲