Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Separate or apart in space.
- adj. Far removed; remote: distant lands.
- adj. Coming from or going to a distance: a distant sound; a distant telephone call.
- adj. Far removed or apart in time: the distant past; distant events.
- adj. Far apart in relationship: a distant cousin.
- adj. Minimally similar: a distant likeness.
- adj. Far removed mentally: distant thoughts.
- adj. Aloof or chilly: a distant smile.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To keep separate; distinguish.
- Standing or being apart from a given point or place; situated at a different point in space, or, by extension, in time; separated by a distance: as, a point a line or a hair's-breadth distant from another; Saturn is estimated to be about 880,000,000 miles distant from the sun.
- Remote; far off or far apart in space, time, connection, prospect, kind, degree, sound, etc.: as, distant stars; a distant period; distant relatives; a distant hope; a distant resemblance.
- Specifically.
- In entomology: Thinly placed or scattered: as, distant punctures, striæ, spines, etc.: opposed to close, contiguous, etc.
- Widely separated, or more separated than usual: opposed to approximate: as, distant eyes (widely separated at the base); distant legs or antennæ.
- Separated by an incisure or joint, as the head and thorax of a beetle.
- Indirect; not obvious or plain.
- Not cordial or familiar; characterized by haughtiness, coldness, or reserve; cool; reserved; shy: as, distant manners.
- Synonyms Removed. Cool, cold, haughty, frigid.
Wiktionary
- adj. far off (physically, logically or mentally)
- adj. emotionally unresponsive or unwilling to express genuine feelings
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Separated; having an intervening space; at a distance; away.
- adj. Far separated; far off; not near; remote; -- in place, time, consanguinity, or connection
- adj. Reserved or repelling in manners; cold; not cordial; somewhat haughty.
- adj. Indistinct; faint; obscure, as from distance.
- adj. Not conformable; discrepant; repugnant.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. located far away spatially
- adj. far apart in relevance or relationship or kinship
- adj. separate or apart in time
- adj. remote in manner
- adj. separated in space or coming from or going to a distance
Etymologies
- From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin distans, present participle of distare ("to stand apart, be separate, distant, or different"), from di-, dis- ("apart") + stare ("to stand"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English distaunt, from Old French, from Latin distāns, distant-, present participle of distāre, to be remote : dis-, apart; see dis- + stāre, to stand; see stā- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“To one who charges me with being a distant relative of the chimpanzee, I give the reply of Henry Ward Beecher: 'I don't care how _far distant_.”
Wit, Humor, Reason, Rhetoric, Prose, Poetry and Story Woven into Eight Popular Lectures
“I hate the phrase distant third," Mr. Fager said.”
The Wall Street Journal: CBS Taps Charlie Rose, Gayle King for New Show
“Real reporters. not “techno sycophants” whose first job was at MacWeek, PCWeek or InfoWorld manage to remain distant from the subject of their stories.”
“He paused for a minute, his expression distant and thoughtful.”
“We're captives to the tyranny of what I call the distant depth, and there is no human access to the site of the spill," said Coast Guard Adm. Thad W. Allen, the coordinating commander of a response that includes nearly 8,500 personnel and 260 vessels.”
The Washington Post: Officials enlist robots to help contain oil gushing in Gulf of Mexico
“Mr. ZABIHULLAH�MUJAHED (Spokesman, Taliban): (Foreign language spoken) LAWRENCE: Speaking with NPR by phone this morning, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah�Mujahed said that one of the men was killed and that the body, along with the surviving serviceman, are now in what he called a distant, safe location inside Afghanistan.”
“The medical effect of alcohol and marijuana, it ` s what we call distant inhibition.”
“You know, they're trained not only in camps, but it appears to me that the tapes were used for what we call distant learning.”
“She looked relaxed, her expression distant, almost disinterested.”
“The -- some of the distant relatives, what he calls distant relatives in Miami and their supporters, produced what they said was an affidavit.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘distant’.
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grade 3
ability, absorb, act, tive, actual, adopt, advantage, ambition, ancient, arrange, arctic, attitude and 125 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Sounds
words that describe sound
atchoo, atishoo, babble, bam, bay, beep, blast, blather, bleat, bleep, blip, bong and 242 more...
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(1st_wk_150)-Dec_5_2012
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 297 more...
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Ayumi G3
Ability, absorb, accuse, act, active, actual, adopt, advantage, advice, ambition, ancient, approach and 128 more...
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EU Buzz - single words (1+2+3)
1. Strictly EU terms with special European meaning used only in the EU
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2. Keywords central to the understanding of the EU (people working for the EU are usually able to give thematic...acceleration, action, additionality, administrator, agenda, agricultural, agri-environmental, agriflation, agri-food, applicant, approach, assent and 1325 more...
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Introverted
Quiet, shy, Introverted, reserved, isolated, mysterious
abashed, alienated, alone, anonymous, antisocial, ascetic, asocial, austere, autonomous, awkward, bashful, clannish and 91 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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classic695's Words
delighted, elated, energetic, excited, enthusiastic, elevated, happy, contented, fine, pleased, satisfied, compassionate and 168 more...
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Cage
cage, depart, nothing, void, strain, unconscious, never, alone, floor, God, hell, winter and 219 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
contemplate, container, consumer, consultant, consensus, conscious, conscience, connection, confusion, confront, conflict, confident and 4334 more...
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feeling words
twitterpated, loquacious, ambiguous, pensive, sluggish, anxious, adventurous, curious, abandoned, absent-minded, abrasive, abused and 653 more...
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cloudjuice's Words
schadenfreude, sordid, promulgate, erratic, erroneous, amalgamate, sesquipedalian, incongruous, psychosis, etymology, simulacrum, serendipity and 988 more...
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Idk, I like these words.
ethereality, apathy, consideration, soul, safety, lone wolf, darkness, pressure, ocean, few, collapse, believe and 155 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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1
horizon, echo, undulation, resonance, reflection, acoustic, swoosh, distant, glide, interspace, marbles, radiant and 144 more...
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