The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Distance \Dis"tance\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Distanced; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Distancing.]
   1. To place at a distance or remotely.
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            I heard nothing thereof at Oxford, being then miles
            distanced thence.                     --Fuller.
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   2. To cause to appear as if at a distance; to make seem
      remote.
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            His peculiar art of distancing an object to
            aggrandize his space.                 --H. Miller.
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   3. To outstrip by as much as a distance (see Distance, n.,
      3); to leave far behind; to surpass greatly.
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            He distanced the most skillful of his
            contemporaries.                       --Milner.
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