distant

Universal Words adjective 1 far away in space or time: the distant sound of music * distant stars / planets * The time we spent together is now a distant memory. * (formal) The airport was about 20 kilometres distant. * a star 30000 light years distant from the Earth * (figurative) Peace was just a distant hope (= not very likely). 2 ~ (from sth) not like sth else: Their life seemed utterly distant from his own. 3 [onlybeforenoun] (of a person) related to you but not closely: a distant cousin / aunt / relative 4 not friendly; not wanting a close relationship with sb: Pat sounded very cold and distant on the phone. * He became emotionally distant from his friends and family after the illness. 5 not paying attention to sth but thinking about sth completely different: There was a distant look in her eyes, her mind was obviously on something else. distantly adverb: Somewhere, distantly, he could hear the sound of the sea. * We're distantly related. * Holly smiled distantly. IDIOMS the (dim and) distant past a long time ago: stories from the distant past * In the distant past this land was covered in forests. in the not too distant future not a long time in the future but fairly soon: I hope we'll see each other again in the not too distant future.