distract
Americanverb (used with object)
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to draw away or divert, as the mind or attention.
The music distracted him from his work.
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to disturb or trouble greatly in mind; beset.
Grief distracted him.
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to provide a pleasant diversion for; amuse; entertain.
I'm bored with bridge, but golf still distracts me.
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to separate or divide by dissension or strife.
adjective
verb
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(often passive) to draw the attention of (a person) away from something
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to divide or confuse the attention of (a person)
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to amuse or entertain
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to trouble greatly
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to make mad
Other Word Forms
- distracter noun
- distractibility noun
- distractible adjective
- distracting adjective
- distractingly adverb
- distractive adjective
- distractively adverb
- nondistracting adjective
- nondistractingly adverb
- undistracting adjective
- undistractingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of distract
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin distractus “drawn apart,” past participle of distrahere “to draw apart,” from dis- dis- 1 + trahere “to draw”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He eschewed any stylistic qualities drawing attention to the process of filmmaking, deeming "too distracting" the close-ups of mouths talking and body parts that featured in his early films.
From Barron's
Then again, it’s all too easy to be distracted from the desultory happenings on stage.
Each of those stages is one more opportunity for the user to get distracted and for things to fall apart.
The other half will be too distracted to notice.
From Los Angeles Times
The Center for Responsible Lending says the industry is “using false allegations as part of a smear campaign to distract from the clear harm caused by their products.”
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
