1
as in diverting
to draw the attention or mind to something else
we were distracted from our discussion by the noise outside
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bothering
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
distracted by the looming tax deadline
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in confounding
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of distracting
William Arruda, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
James Factora, Them., 26 Sep. 2025
The subtle side snap buttons leading down to the slit provide detail without being distracting, and the pointelle knit offers enough stretch and texture to hug your curves in all the right places.
—Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 20 Sep. 2025
From Noise To Intent In the quest for transactions and eyeballs, brands often inundate users with irrelevant and distracting messages that contribute to more noise than meaningful engagement.
—Rajiv Shesh, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
As a result of Zinn’s distracting comments, Utah police said the investigation into Kirk’s assassination was delayed as law enforcement wasted resources needed to search for the real shooter, authorities said.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 16 Sep. 2025
With Jorgen Strand Larsen, who scored vital goals last season, suffering from an injury and a distracting transfer saga amid interest from Newcastle, Pereira has had to work with three crucial players through the spine of his team either missing or below par.
—Steve Madeley, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
Young committed to trying to help the deployment strengthen the community without distracting from ongoing law enforcement efforts.
—Arkansas Online, 13 Sep. 2025
Speaking of, such bold claims risk distracting from the film’s equally impressive auditory elements such as new songs from Aimer and yes, LiSA (not to be confused with BLACKPINK’s Lisa, of course).
—David Opie, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2025
This combination lends itself to transitions from focus to out of focus and background blur (bokeh) that's smooth and free of distracting elements.
—PC Magazine, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
Choose a clean, non-distracting background that doesn’t compete with your mug for attention.
—William Arruda, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Rather than distracting from the acting, the animation also only enhances the heightened emotions of adolescence.
—James Factora, Them., 26 Sep. 2025
The subtle side snap buttons leading down to the slit provide detail without being distracting, and the pointelle knit offers enough stretch and texture to hug your curves in all the right places.
—Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 20 Sep. 2025
From Noise To Intent In the quest for transactions and eyeballs, brands often inundate users with irrelevant and distracting messages that contribute to more noise than meaningful engagement.
—Rajiv Shesh, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
As a result of Zinn’s distracting comments, Utah police said the investigation into Kirk’s assassination was delayed as law enforcement wasted resources needed to search for the real shooter, authorities said.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 16 Sep. 2025
With Jorgen Strand Larsen, who scored vital goals last season, suffering from an injury and a distracting transfer saga amid interest from Newcastle, Pereira has had to work with three crucial players through the spine of his team either missing or below par.
—Steve Madeley, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
Young committed to trying to help the deployment strengthen the community without distracting from ongoing law enforcement efforts.
—Arkansas Online, 13 Sep. 2025
Speaking of, such bold claims risk distracting from the film’s equally impressive auditory elements such as new songs from Aimer and yes, LiSA (not to be confused with BLACKPINK’s Lisa, of course).
—David Opie, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2025
This combination lends itself to transitions from focus to out of focus and background blur (bokeh) that's smooth and free of distracting elements.
—PC Magazine, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distracting
Verb
-
Global organization Human Rights Watch accused the festival of diverting attention away from allegations of the government’s severe repression of free speech and criticized comedians for performing on the behest of an oppressive regime.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
The disruption came just a day after flights were halted Thursday night following earlier drone reports, stranding thousands of passengers and diverting flights across the region.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The injury that will sideline Herro to begin this season is one that had been bothering him for a few months.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Even scrambling around, his knee was bothering him.—
Michael Nowels,
Mercury News,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Tuesday will go down as one of Boston’s most confounding losses of the season, a 4-3 defeat in 11 innings to the Baltimore Orioles in which the club went 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Some asserted that the commitment and costs of traveling and attending meetings paired with the limited compensation was detracting members of the public from running for office.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
When a school principal (Ashley Padilla) and a teacher (Mikey Day) reprimand a student (Hernandez) for disturbing drawings of him attacking the principal, the student’s father (Bad Bunny) comes in, and Padilla’s principal, immediately smitten, changes course to hitting on the student’s father.—
Rima Parikh,
Vulture,
5 Oct. 2025
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Something, the researchers said, must be disturbing these orbits and tilting them.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The phenomenon is called seasonal asynchrony, and a new study finds these perplexing locations appear in tropical mountains of countries like Costa Rica as well as places like California that have Mediterranean climates.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
22 Sep. 2025
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The Quiz In one of the more perplexing acquisitions this year, early 2000s music sharing platform LimeWire acquired the rights to the infamous Fyre Festival in an auction this week.—
Maggie McGrath,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But also alarming is that government officials don’t seem to take seriously the need to justify the reasons for their use of force, which should only be wielded to protect the rights of Americans.—
Agustina Vergara Cid,
Oc Register,
22 Sep. 2025
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Bond yields leaking higher since the Fed cut rates a quarter-point on Wednesday is not atypical, and — so far — is not alarming equity markets, inflation watchdogs or fiscal hawks.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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And perhaps the most puzzling question — why is Mark Wahlberg a movie star?—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
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Another puzzling result dipped the Green Bay Packers to +750, good for third in the odds.—
Scott Phillips,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Distracting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distracting. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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