distant

adjective

dis·​tant ˈdi-stənt 

1

a

: separated in space : away

a mile distant

b

: situated at a great distance (see distance entry 1 sense 2a) : far-off

a distant galaxy

c

: having a great amount of separation between each other : separated by a great distance from each other : far apart

visiting distant places

distant campuses

d

: far behind

finished a distant third

2

: separated in a relationship other than spatial

a distant cousin

the distant past

3

: different in kind

from two very distant backgrounds

4

: reserved or aloof in personal relationship : cold

was distant and distracted

5

a

: going a long distance

distant voyages

b

: concerned with remote (see remote entry 1 sense 2) things

distant thoughts

distantly adverb

distantness noun

Synonyms

• away
• far
• deep
• removed
• remote

Examples of distant in a Sentence

In the distant past, dinosaurs roamed the earth.

The day I left home is now a distant memory.

Recent Examples on the Web

This aunt would look into the ball and see the face of some distant relative, and then announce that the family would be having an unexpected visitor, before dispatching someone to the butcher’s to buy the very best pork chops for the occasion. —Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025

Tagovailoa has played 21 games since that 2023 Christmas Eve game, one of the now-distant happy memories of the Mike McDaniel/Tagovailoa era. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2025

Faced with more distant suffering, however, most people in wealthy societies are curiously immobile. —The New Yorker, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025

Brecher collected light from the distant nebula scene from his home in Guelph, Canada using an astronomy camera mounted on a Sky-Watcher Esprit 70 EDX refractor telescope over the course of over 40 hours in September earlier this year. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin distant-, distans, present participle of distare to stand apart, be distant, from dis- + stare to stand — more at stand

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing distant

• distant look in someone's eye
• in the not too distant future
• the dim and distant past

Rhymes for distant

• assistant
• consistent
• existent
• insistent
• persistent
• resistant
• subsistent
• coexistent
• equidistant
• inconsistent
• nonexistent
• preexistent

Kids Definition

distant

adjective

dis·​tant ˈdis-tənt 

1

a

: separated in space or time : away

b

: being at a great distance : far-off

distant galaxies

c

: far apart

2

: not close in relationship

distant cousin

3

: cold entry 1 sense 2, unfriendly

distantly adverb

distantness noun