1
2
as in to disturb
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
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
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of distract
Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Avoid busy patterns or flashy jewelry that could distract from your testimony or statements.
—Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Nov. 2025
William Arruda, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Perplexity’s image features photographs of people with some truly nightmarish distortions on its wall, while the placement of its sink is confusing and distracting.
—PC Magazine, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for distract
Verb
By hinting that his business was the victim of shape-shifting saboteurs, Westergaard distracted from the more prosaic story about the carelessness of his staff.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Avoid busy patterns or flashy jewelry that could distract from your testimony or statements.
—Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
Choose a clean, non-distracting background that doesn’t compete with your mug for attention.
—William Arruda, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Verb
Surprisingly, the injury helped him in this regard by distracting him from overanalyzing his game.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Perplexity’s image features photographs of people with some truly nightmarish distortions on its wall, while the placement of its sink is confusing and distracting.
—PC Magazine, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for distract
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distract
Adjective
-
What is the most confounding and terrible, however, is Gretchen’s assertion that Slade, the anti-Viagra, doesn’t get involved with the women on his own accord, but only engages because the women always talk about him.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
-
The offense’s struggles are the most confounding.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Played for comic relief, he is baffled by this son of his who attends college and, more perplexing yet, is suddenly obsessed with Italy and cycling.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The Packers’ offense already had several perplexing questions to answer after a dismal Sunday showing.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Here are five times what seemed like a harmless toy turned into a puzzling moment online.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The second flare is even more puzzling.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Joy Buolamwini, a computer scientist at MIT Media Lab, has written extensively on the dangers of inaccurate and racially biased facial recognition systems.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
-
The Gemini integration naturally raises concerns about the chatbot hallucinating inaccurate information.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
He was found dead lying face up on his hotel bed with no signs of trauma, according to a Monday report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.—
Kenan Draughorne,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Jan. 2022
Adjective
-
The friction can be bewildering.—
Kate Bernot,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Bizarre pivot Trump’s sudden embrace of Jewish students, pitting them against purportedly reckless university leaders, remains bewildering.—
James Druckman,
Mercury News,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Using incorrect or false case references in legal documents has real implications for defendants, because judges rely on these references to help form their rulings, Kjoller’s lawyers wrote.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Appeals can be made based on factors including incorrect data, adverse testing conditions, and school or community emergencies, according to the State Board of Education.—
Erick Trevino,
AZCentral.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Such fraudulent science can slow medical progress and delay vital treatment, The Scientist reported, especially when, as in this case, journals rarely took steps to correct the record.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The illegality generated more than $1 billion in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid.—
Kevin G. Hall,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Distract.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distract. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
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