faraway

faraway — adjective

1. Located at a great physical or temporal distance from the speaker or from a refe

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

Located at a great physical or temporal distance from the speaker or from a reference point — for example, a village in another country or an era long before the present.

Example

Mateo grew up in a faraway village high in the Andes mountains.

attributive use: faraway + geographic noun

The museum's ancient coins came from a faraway time in human history.

temporal sense: faraway + time/era

Common collocations
  • faraway place
  • faraway land
  • faraway country
  • faraway village
  • faraway planet
  • faraway time
  • faraway era
  • faraway galaxy
Synonyms
  • distant

    More neutral and slightly more common than 'faraway' in both attributive and predicative positions ('The mountains were distant').

  • remote

    Emphasizes isolation and difficulty of access, often with a sense of wildness ('a remote island').

  • far-off

    Interchangeable with 'faraway' but slightly less formal; common in storytelling contexts ('far-off lands').

Antonyms
  • nearby

    Describes something close in distance; the opposite of physically far.

  • close

    Simple and neutral opposite; works for both distance and time ('the close future').

Grammar Patterns

faraway + place/land/country/village/time

Usage Note

Faraway is used only attributively (before a noun). To express the same idea after a verb, use the two-word phrase 'far away' — for example, 'The village is very far away from here,' not 'The village is very faraway.'

Common Mistakes

My cousin lives in a faraway city from here.
My cousin lives in a faraway city.
Do not add 'from here' after 'faraway'; the word already implies distance from the speaker.

2. Describes a person's facial expression when their mind is occupied with other th

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

Describes a person's facial expression when their mind is occupied with other thoughts and they seem unaware of their immediate surroundings — for example, someone staring out a window while thinking about a past memory.

Example

Sayaka sat quietly on the bus with a faraway look in her eyes.

collocation: faraway look

Gita's faraway expression told her mother she was still thinking about the argument.

Common collocations
  • faraway look
  • faraway expression
  • faraway eyes
  • faraway gaze
  • faraway stare
Synonyms
  • dreamy

    Slightly more positive and poetic; can suggest pleasant daydreaming rather than just distraction ('a dreamy expression').

  • abstracted

    More formal and technical; emphasizes mental withdrawal from the surroundings ('an abstracted air').

  • absent

    Often used in the phrase 'absent-minded'; suggests forgetfulness caused by deep thought ('an absent stare').

Antonyms
  • alert

    Describes someone fully aware of and engaged with their surroundings.

  • attentive

    Describes someone who is focusing on the present situation, not drifting mentally.

Grammar Patterns

faraway + look/expression/eyes/gaze/stare

Usage Note

Only used with nouns referring to facial expressions or the eyes — 'look', 'expression', 'gaze', 'stare', 'eyes'. It does not describe a person's internal state directly; rather, it describes what others can see on their face.

Common Mistakes

She felt faraway during the meeting.
She had a faraway look during the meeting.
'Faraway' cannot describe a person's feeling; it can only describe their expression.
He gave her a faraway smile.
He gave her a faraway look.
'Faraway' is not used with 'smile'; use 'faraway look/expression/gaze' instead.

Word family

  • far
    adverbA1
  • far
    adjectiveA2
  • farther
    adverbB1
  • farthest
    adverbB1
  • further
    adverbB1
  • furthest
    adverbB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three words describe physical or temporal separation, but they differ in nuance. 'Distant' is the most neutral and versatile — it works for space ('distant stars'), time ('distant past'), and even relationships ('distant relative'). 'Remote' adds a feeling of isolation and inaccessibility: a remote island is hard to reach, not just far away. 'Far-off' and 'faraway' overlap significantly, but 'far-off' is slightly more informal and commonly appears in storytelling ('far-off lands'), while 'faraway' pairs naturally with both concrete nouns ('faraway village') and temporal ones ('faraway time'). For everyday distance, use 'distant'; for places that feel cut off, use 'remote'; for a poetic or fairy-tale tone, use 'far-off' or 'faraway.'

distant ↗remote ↗far-off ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

'Faraway' is a compound word formed from 'far' (Old English 'feor', meaning 'at a great distance') and 'away' (Old English 'aweg', meaning 'on one's way, from this place'). It has been written as a single word since the 16th century. The figurative sense describing a dreamy or absent expression appeared around the mid-19th century, originally used in literature to suggest that a person's thoughts had traveled to a distant place.