From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdistantdis‧tant /ˈdɪstənt/ ●●○ W3 adjective 1 far awayFAR 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► see thesaurus at far2 not friendlyUNFRIENDLY 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]SSFFAMILY not closely related to you OPP close a distant cousin5 → distant from something —distantly adverb We are distantly related.COLLOCATIONSnounsthe 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/hillsFrom here, you can look out to the distant hills.a distant planet/galaxy/starThey saw telescope images of the distant planet Neptune.a distant soundSometimes you can hear the distant sound of traffic from the main road.distant thunderDistant thunder rumbled over the mountains.distant placesShe 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.phrasesin 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.
Examples from the Corpus
distant• Firebug shrugged, his eyes distant.• The neighbors seem very distant, although I try to be friendly.• Fog hangs on the distant and some of the near hills.• As she was growing up, her father was always distant and took little interest in her achievements.• Then her sad eyes met Morse's in a sort of distant, anonymous camaraderie: she smiled across, almost fully.• Howard is a distant cousin of my mother's.• High-tech digital cameras are used extensively in astronomy to capture dim light from distant galaxies.• Travelers came from distant lands to visit the shrine.• Jeff's been kind of distant lately.• There was no sound other than the distant roar of the ocean.• Even the plural in their name seems to make them extend farther into a distant romantic haze.• Adelaida Parra coordinates seven literacy groups each week spending long hours travelling by bus between the distant shanty towns.• By now, the plane was just a distant speck in the sky.• There was a flash of lightning and then the rumble of distant thunder.in the not too distant future• Wilder thinks there will be a black president in the not too distant future.• Afterwards, Mr. Reynolds announced that the President would be visiting Ireland in the not too distant future.• The latter is already yielding fresh produce and fresh fruit is expected from the orchard in the not too distant future.• This, and similar organisations, may well become agents of environmental change in the not too distant future.Origin distant (1300-1400) Latin distans, present participle of distare “to stand apart”, from stare “to stand” 