What is the difference between apart and separate?
From the dictonary I think that both are the opposite of together.
What is the difference between apart and separate?
From the dictonary I think that both are the opposite of together.
They are very close in meaning. I think the difference is that if you describe things as apart, there is an implication that they should be, or used to be, or might be, together. Describing them as separate does not have this implication; in fact it may have (weakly) the opposite implication that they do not belong together.
Both words can be used in a variety of contexts, so it's hard to concisely express when one word is more fitting than the other. Here are some differences that come to my mind:
However, there are times when the two words could be used pretty much interchangeably: The hermit lived separate/apart from everyone else.
In addition, separate is more readily converted to a noun (separation), and an adverb (separately). Separate can also be used as a verb (although it changes pronunciation): Separate the dark clothes from the whites before you start the wash.
Separate can mean "different":
Those are two separate questions.
You could not substitute the word "apart" in the sentence above.
The two trees are far apart.
This says that there is a large distance between the trees. It would not make sense to say "far separate" here (though you could say that the trees are "widely separated").