distant
/ˈdɪstənt/
"distant" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“distant” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,212 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #5,212
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Far off (physically, logically or mentally).
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | distant |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈdɪstənt/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #5,212 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “distant” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for distant is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɪstənt/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,212 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for distant, with forms such as "ddistant", "disatnt", and "disstant". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "distort", "distinct", "distract", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English distaunt, from Old French distant, from Latin distāns. The correct English form is distant, spelled D-I-S-T-A-N-T.
Definition
- 1Far off (physically, logically or mentally).
- 2Emotionally unresponsive or unwilling to express genuine feelings.
- 3Imported into a cable television system from a different market (and thus possibly incurring a copyright royalty).
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English distaunt, from Old French distant, from Latin distāns.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddistant,disatnt,disstant,distannt,distantt,distatn,distnat,disttant,ditsant,dsitant,idstant
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of distant - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "distant"?
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Using “distant”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-S-T-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɪstənt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “distort” - see the side-by-side comparison. distant vs distort
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.