distract
verb
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Definition of distract
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a : to draw or direct (something, such as someone's attention) to a different object or in different directions at the same time was distracted by a sudden noise
b : to turn aside : divert refused to be distracted from her purpose
2 : to stir up or confuse with conflicting emotions or motives
distract
adjective
ˈdis-ˌtrakt
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Other words from distract
Verb
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noun
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adjective
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adverb
Synonyms & Antonyms for distract
Synonyms: Verb
agitate, ail, alarm (also alarum), bother, concern, derail, discomfort, discompose, dismay, disquiet, distemper, distress, disturb, exercise, flurry, frazzle, freak (out), fuss, perturb, undo, unhinge, unsettle, upset, weird out, worry
Antonyms: Verb
calm, compose, quiet, settle, soothe, tranquilize (also tranquillize)
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Examples of distract in a Sentence
Verb
You sneak into his room while I distract him. He was distracted from his studies. The students are easily distracted, especially when they're tired. I was distracted by a loud noise. The local story distracted attention from news of the war overseas.
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Jaden, meanwhile, seems enthusiastic about killing his first deer, but is also distracted by texts and calls from his girlfriend, and is bored by his dad’s insistence on doing everything old-school. — Noel Murray, latimes.com, "Review: Awkward father-son bonding lacks punch in modest 'Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter'," 5 July 2018 Having been exposed to the problem, some gave an immediate answer, some were given time to think, and a third group were given a tricky maths problem to distract them. — Daniel Glaser, A-LIST, "Out of Your Mind," 1 July 2018 But for all the speeches and the passion of the people gathered, I am distracted by the harsh and unforgiving landscape that stretches in every direction around us. — refinery29.com, "Planned Parenthood Leader Recounts "Cruelty & Hatred" At The Border," 27 June 2018 But the second half of the second season has largely frozen its main characters in place for several episodes, looping and darting through time in a seeming effort to distract from how little is actually going on. — Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "Am I watching Westworld wrong?," 22 June 2018 It’s all designed to get us down to their level, to distract and weaken us. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Former NSA and CIA director General Michael Hayden on Recode Decode," 19 June 2018 But, at the same time, Meghan doesn't want to distract from the purpose of her day with the Queen, hence her covered shoulders. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Meghan Markle Looks Quite Ladylike for Her First Solo Appearance with the Queen," 14 June 2018 For Microsoft, the following decade was a painful, distracting, and expensive era as the company fought anti-trust litigation in the U.S. and Europe. — Jonas Kron, Fortune, "Microsoft Does These 2 Things to Stay out of Trouble. Facebook Should Try Them," 8 June 2018 The recognition should encompass all your senses to not be distracted. — Robert Duffer, chicagotribune.com, "The shift is on: Manual transmissions may be endangered but they're also beloved," 11 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'distract.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for distract
distract
verb
English Language Learners Definition of distract
: to cause (someone) to stop thinking about or paying attention to someone or something and to think about or pay attention to someone or something else instead
: to take (attention) away from someone or something
See the full definition for distract in the English Language Learners Dictionary
distract
verb
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Kids Definition of distract
: to draw a person's thoughts or attention to something else The TV distracts me when I'm studying.
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