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
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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
Senior Wine Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detracts
Verb
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That is when Harbaugh will be able to crystallize for players like Cam Skattebo that football is the priority, and any outside nonsense that distracts from the goal of winning games is not going to be tolerated anymore.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
23 Mar. 2026
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Reading chairs can become hotspots for clutter, which distracts from rest.—
Shagun Khare,
The Spruce,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The system diverts stormwater into a giant tank and then, at Fourteenth Street, pumps it out at up to three hundred and fifty million gallons a day, sending it on to the Newtown Creek wastewater facility.—
Eric Klinenberg,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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This diverts from the usual legislative process of amendments, markups and the like, which Huizenga told Newsweek was problematic for debt proposals in the past.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Detracts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detracts. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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