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Definition of distraction
1 : the act of distracting or the state of being distracted; especially : mental confusion driven to distraction by their endless chatter
2 : something that distracts : an object that directs one's attention away from something else turned off her phone to limit distractions One created a distraction while the other grabbed the money.; especially : amusement a harmless distraction a book of word puzzles and other distractions
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Examples of distraction in a Sentence
It was hard to work with so many distractions.
One of them created a distraction while the other grabbed the money.
A weekend at the beach was a good distraction from her troubles.
Their endless chatter drove her to distraction.
Recent Examples of distraction from the Web
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The possible distraction from the TMZ report is worth considering.
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Of special value to the school’s one-year-old food science degree program will be a new, walled-off sensory lab that will allow participants to sample food in a neutral environment unaffected by sounds, smells or other distractions.
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There is the ever-unfolding Russia scandal, and whatever distraction has emerged from the president’s Twitter feed in the past 24 hours, but also an increasingly unfocused and confusing discussion of health care in our mainstream dialogue.
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That leaves the wackiness to Bell and McKinnon, two actresses who can be scene-stealers or pure distractions, depending on the project.
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Constant phone notifications are a distraction from the person sitting right across from you, and the temptation to keep checking one last text or just a few extra Facebook comments is strong.
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In a normal political environment, a scandal is a distraction from a major bill, because major bills get passed by building public consensus.
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Still, that’s only a distraction for the way the Warriors played in a 137-116 loss to the Cavaliers in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
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Mr. Camp, in fact, plays down Mr. Trump as a distraction or as no worse than other elites.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'distraction'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of distraction
see 2distract
DISTRACTION Defined for English Language Learners
distraction
playDefinition of distraction for English Language Learners
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: something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention
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: something that amuses or entertains you so that you do not think about problems, work, etc.
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: a state in which you are very annoyed or upset
DISTRACTION Defined for Kids
distraction
playDefinition of distraction for Students
1 : something that makes it hard to pay attention One robber created a distraction and the other grabbed the money.
2 : the act of having thoughts or attention drawn away : the state of drawing thoughts or attention away … he needed to clear his head, to flush away all distraction … — Jerry Spinelli, Maniac Magee
3 : confusion of thoughts or feelings Their endless chatter drove me to distraction.
4 : something that amuses or entertains The game was a good distraction during the long car ride.
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about distraction
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See words that rhyme with distraction Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for distraction Spanish Central: Translation of distraction Nglish: Translation of distraction for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of distraction for Arabic speakers
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