distant Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective separated in space or coming from or going to a distance
    • distant villages
    • the sound of distant traffic
    • a distant sound
    • a distant telephone call
  2. adjective far apart in relevance or relationship or kinship
    remote.
    • a distant cousin
    • a remote relative
    • a distant likeness
    • considerations entirely removed (or remote) from politics
  3. adjective satellite remote in manner
    aloof; upstage.
    • stood apart with aloof dignity
    • a distant smile
    • he was upstage with strangers
  4. adjective satellite separate or apart in time
    remote; removed.
    • distant events
    • the remote past or future
  5. adjective satellite located far away spatially
    remote.
    • distant lands
    • remote stars

WordNet

Dis"tant adjective
Etymology
F., fr. L. distans, -antis, p. pr. of distare to stand apart, be separate or distant; dis- + stare to stand. See Stand.
Definitions
  1. Separated; having an intervening space; at a distance; away.
    One board had two tenons, equally distant. Ex. xxxvi. 22.
    Diana's temple is not distant far. Shak.
  2. Far separated; far off; not near; remote; -- in place, time, consanguinity, or connection; as, distant times; distant relatives.
    The success of these distant enterprises. Prescott.
  3. Reserved or repelling in manners; cold; not cordial; somewhat haughty; as, a distant manner.
    He passed me with a distant bow. Goldsmith.
  4. Indistinct; faint; obscure, as from distance.
    Some distant knowledge. Shak.
    A distant glimpse. W. Irving.
  5. Not conformable; discrepant; repugnant; as, a practice so widely distant from Christianity. Syn. -- Separate; far; remote; aloof; apart; asunder; slight; faint; indirect; indistinct.

Webster 1913