divert/distract attention

idiom

: to try to keep people from noticing or thinking about something
He was trying to divert/distract attention away from his friend's mistake.

Examples of divert/distract attention in a Sentence

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The Trump administration's critics have dismissed the claims as an attempt to divert attention from the controversy surrounding the unreleased Epstein files. Dan Gooding gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025 Critics of President Donald Trump have claimed that the release is an effort to divert attention from the Jeffrey Epstein controversy. Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025 The tendency to divert attention away from distressing thoughts or feelings. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025 Twenty, thirty or forty million dollars will allow a fella to divert attention from his own mistakes and celebrate his substantial accomplishments. Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 5 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for divert/distract attention

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Cite this Entry

“Divert/distract attention.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divert%2Fdistract%20attention. Accessed 28 Jul. 2025.

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