Learn English – the difference between “remote” and “distant”

differencemeaning

We have these adjective meanings:

Remote
1. far apart; far distant in space.
2. out-of-the-way; secluded: a remote village.
3. distant in time, relationship, connection, etc.: remote antiquity; a remote ancestor.
4. far off; abstracted; removed: principles remote from actions.
5. not direct or primary; not directly involved or influential: the remote causes of the war.
6. slight or faint; unlikely: a remote chance.
7. reserved and distant in manner.
8. operating or controlled from a distance, as by remote control.

Distant
1. far off or apart in space; remote.
2. apart or far off in time.
3. remote in any respect: a distant relative.
4. reserved or aloof; not familiar or cordial.
5. arriving from or going to a distance.

I can't understand the difference between “remote” and “distant“?

When do I use remote and distant? For me they are identical.

Next examples don't give a grasp for me (I took them from my self-education):

Remote [rɪˈməʊt]
1. He might know a remote capability of lying but that was useless.
2. I'm not sorry to be as remote from these things as I am.

Distant [ˈdɪst(ə)nt]
1. The hobbits looked anxiously at the distant hills. (Why? Can I say "remote"?)
2. He looked north across a line of rocks, studying a distant escarpment.
3. Light clouds came up out of the sea in the distant South and were blown away upon the breeze.
4. Soon he was beyond the reach of the last rays from the faint and distant Sun.

I think these examples aren't the best.

Best Answer

Yes, they are similar & would be largely interchangeable. A small distinction I can think of:

  • Remote: A defining characteristic of isolation from the perspective of the thing being described. It's far away from absolutely everything.

    The village is remote, with nothing else around for hundreds of miles.

    There's only a remote chance of this thing happening, regardless what other things happen.

  • Distant: relative to a particular point of reference. Distant from what?

    It's only a distant memory (as of now, compared to all my other memories)

    It's in the distant past (measuring from this point in time).

    She seemed distant, like she was thinking about somewhere else (compared to how she usually acts)

But in general, you could probably use either in most cases.

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