detracts

verb

present tense third-person singular of detract
as in distracts
to draw the attention or mind to something else numerous typos in the text detract the reader's attention from the novel's intricate plot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of detracts If the expansion detracts somehow from the SARA cult fever, the co-owners are OK with that. — Senior Wine Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detracts
  1. distracts
  2. diverts
Verb
  • Align Expansion With Your Mission Before expanding, ask whether the new service strengthens your mission or distracts from it.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
  • Mother’s explosion distracts Blaine and frees Sam.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 22 May 2026
Definition of distracts
Verb
  • De-extinction, in this line of thought, diverts vital resources from these more important conservation efforts.
    — Taylor Dotson, Scientific American, 10 July 2026
  • Reuters reported in July 2025 that independent publishers filed an EU antitrust complaint against Google’s AI Overviews, arguing that the feature diverts traffic and revenue.
    — Esade Business & Law School, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of diverts

Browse Nearby Words

detractors
detracts
detrain
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Detracts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detracts. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on detracts

Nglish: Translation of detracts for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All