Distant country it's said (6)
I believe the answer is:
chilly
'distant' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'country it's said' is the wordplay.
'country' becomes 'Chile' (Chile is a country).
'it's said' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'chile' is a homophone of 'CHILLY'.
(Other definitions for chilly that I've seen before include "Nippy" , "Unpleasantly cold - sounds like hot stuff" , "Cool" , "Appreciably cold" , "Parky" .)