dis ‧ tant W3 /ˈdɪstənt/ BrE AmE 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 OPP 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.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ nouns
▪ 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.
■ phrases
▪ 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.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ 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.