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distrait

[dih-strey; French dees-tre]
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adjective
  1. inattentive because of distracting worries, fears, etc.; absent-minded.
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Origin of distrait

1740–50; < French < Latin distractus; see distract
Related formso·ver·dis·trait, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for distrait

Historical Examples

  • On the way the doctor was distrait, Gracie having most of the talking to do herself.

    Ester Ried Yet Speaking

    Isabella Alden

  • As it happened, she only found him distrait, and that interested her.

  • Monmouth paced up and down with his hand to his forehead like one distrait.

    Micah Clarke

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • He was said to be distrait; to be smoking his cigarettes furiously.

    Ruggles of Red Gap

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • "Monsieur is distrait, it appears," she said, mischievously.

    Fort Amity

    Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

British Dictionary definitions for distrait

distrait

adjective
  1. absent-minded; abstracted
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Word Origin

C18: from French, from distraire to distract
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012