From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
distant
adj 1: 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" [ant: close]
2: far apart in relevance or relationship or kinship ; "a
distant cousin"; "a remote relative"; "a distant likeness";
"considerations entirely removed (or remote) from politics"
[syn: distant, remote] [ant: close]
3: remote in manner; "stood apart with aloof dignity"; "a
distant smile"; "he was upstage with strangers" [syn:
aloof, distant, upstage]
4: separate or apart in time; "distant events"; "the remote past
or future" [syn: distant, remote, removed]
5: located far away spatially; "distant lands"; "remote stars"
[syn: distant, remote]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Distant \Dis"tant\, a. [F., fr. L. distans, -antis, p. pr. of
distare to stand apart, be separate or distant; dis- + stare
to stand. See Stand.]
1. Separated; having an intervening space; at a distance;
away.
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One board had two tenons, equally distant. --Ex.
xxxvi. 22.
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Diana's temple is not distant far. --Shak.
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2. Far separated; far off; not near; remote; -- in place,
time, consanguinity, or connection; as, distant times;
distant relatives.
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The success of these distant enterprises.
--Prescott.
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3. Reserved or repelling in manners; cold; not cordial;
somewhat haughty; as, a distant manner.
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He passed me with a distant bow. --Goldsmith.
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4. Indistinct; faint; obscure, as from distance.
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Some distant knowledge. --Shak.
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A distant glimpse. --W. Irving.
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5. Not conformable; discrepant; repugnant; as, a practice so
widely distant from Christianity.
Syn: Separate; far; remote; aloof; apart; asunder; slight;
faint; indirect; indistinct.
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