Dim and distant are two words that connote an absence of clarity or certainty. They can describe a if there is an obstacle in one's line of sight, or a quality of memory that is hazy or fading with time. Some synonyms for dim and distant include unclear, vague, fickle, even ephemeral. They may evoke the ambiguous and liquid nature of memory, fleeting and inconsistent, unconstrained by the limitations of time or space. Alternatively, they can express a sense of uncertainty or doubt, a feeling of not being able to grasp the full or true picture of something, a lingering suspicion that there is more to the story.