distrait

American  

[dih-strey, dees-tre] / dɪˈstreɪ, disˈtrɛ /

adjective

1. inattentive because of distracting worries, fears, etc.; absent-minded.

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distrait British  

/ distrɛ, dɪˈstreɪ /

adjective

1. absent-minded; abstracted

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Other Word Forms

• overdistrait
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of distrait

1740–50; < French < Latin distractus; see distract

Explanation

Distrait means "preoccupied with worry." If you can't concentrate on the hot gossip your friend is sharing with you because you can't stop thinking about what your mom is going to say about the window you accidentally broke, you're distrait. The adjective distrait comes from the Latin word distrahere, meaning “pull apart,” which describes what happens to your thoughts when you are distrait. It looks and sounds like distract, another word that has to do with the ability to pay attention. But while anything can make you feel distracted — a noise outside your window, a phone call that comes when you are supposed to be studying — distrait always has to do with worry and anxiety.

Example Sentences

Distrait, Mark appealed to his friend, but Robert's letters brought no solace�only the melancholy news that his own wife had left him, because forsooth he had been rude to an old hag of a spiritualist.

From Time Magazine Archive

The best of them are Le Joueur, Le Distrait, Les Ménéchmes, Le Légataire, the first and the last named being his principal titles to fame.

From A Short History of French Literature by Saintsbury, George