- distant
- distant, far, faraway, far-off, remote, removed mean not near or close but separated by an obvious interval especially in space or in time.Distant carries a stronger reference to the length of the interval (whether long or short) than the other terms; only when it directly qualifies a noun does it necessarily imply that the interval is markedly long{
a book held six inches distant from the eyes
}{the sun is about 93,000,000 miles distant from the earth
}{a distant city
}{the other item, on a distant page, was cheerfully headed "Food from Sewage"— Krutch
}{at a distant date
}{I do not ask to see the distant scene,—one step enough for me— Newman
}Far, except for the possible reference to a short distance involved in the question "How farT applies (as adverb as well as adjective) only to what is a long way off{[he] took his journey into a far country— Lk 15:13
}{take a far view in planning for future needs of the city
}{go back in the far past to a common origin— Kroeber
}{across the hills, and far away beyond their utmost purple rim— Tennyson
}Faraway and far-off not only mean extremely far but are preferred when distance in time is specifically implied{old, unhappy, far-off things, and battles long ago— Wordsworth
}However, both may suggest distance in space{a cheer that started the echo in a faraway hill— Stevenson
}{the far-off places in which he had been wandering— Dickens
}Remote suggests a far removal, especially from something (as one's present location, one's point of view, or one's time) regarded as a center or vantage ground{some forlorn and naked hermitage, remote from all the pleasures of the world— Shak.
}{the sands of a remote and lonely shore— Shelley
}{whose nature it was to care more for immediate annoyances than for remote consequences— George Eliot
}Removed, which is usually a predicate adjective, carries a stronger implication of separateness and distinction than remote; it therefore usually implies a contrast between two things apart not only in space or in time but in character or quality{an age far removed from the present age in its accomplishments and ideals
}{he sought a retreat removed from all centers of population
}{with peace as far removed as it had been at the time of his election— Paxsori
}Figuratively, distant implies slightness of connection or aloofness of manner{a distant resemblance
}{a distant nod
}Remote imputes to the thing so described a foreign or alien character or an inaccessible nature{I told Oliver about your modern monastery; but the thing is too remote from his experience to have any interest for him— Santayana
}{the captain of a ship at sea is a remote, inaccessible creature . . . alone of his kind, depending on nobody— Conrad
}Removed stresses difference, often a diametrical or antithetical difference{to Queen Scheherazade the dream might have seemed not far removed from commonplace— Hardy
}{he was not an oracle removed from the people, but a real human being— Bok
}{he accepted the nomination for considerations entirely removed from those influencing the average candidate
}Contrasted words: near, *close, nigh, nearby
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.