distracted
Americanadjective
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having the attention diverted.
She tossed several rocks to the far left and slipped past the distracted sentry.
-
rendered incapable of behaving, reacting, etc., in a normal manner, as by worry, remorse, or the like; irrational; disturbed.
adjective
-
bewildered; confused
-
mad
Other Word Forms
- distractedly adverb
- distractedness noun
- nondistracted adjective
- nondistractedly adverb
- undistracted adjective
- undistractedly adverb
- undistractedness noun
Etymology
Origin of distracted
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.
Even when not distracted by a phone’s notifications, people’s brains are preoccupied with what’s happening on their phones.
But the script for Besson’s “Dracula” keeps getting distracted with multiple flashbacks — the film opens with a 15-minute prologue in which Vlad straps on his fanged helmet and rides into battle.
From Los Angeles Times
I scanned nearby tables for friends but was distracted by a woman quickening her pace toward the only available stool at the counter.
From Los Angeles Times
People forget about past follies, either by choice and/or because they’re distracted by the next shiny thing.
From MarketWatch
"Tennis is a bubble, and sometimes you can get distracted that it's all that matters in life," the 24-year-old told BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller.
From BBC
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.
