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
Peter Debruge, Variety, 10 Feb. 2026
Next, a Route 66 sign appears briefly along the periphery, surrounded by additional distracting road signs.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
William Arruda, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
Of course, any intense media scrutiny risks being distracting, especially when it is not directly related to the work of the foundation.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for distract
Verb
To match the child actor who plays young Neil, Levitt wears blue contacts over his naturally brown eyes, which aren’t nearly as distracting in this pass.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 10 Feb. 2026
Next, a Route 66 sign appears briefly along the periphery, surrounded by additional distracting road signs.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
Choose a clean, non-distracting background that doesn’t compete with your mug for attention.
—William Arruda, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Verb
Next, a Route 66 sign appears briefly along the periphery, surrounded by additional distracting road signs.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
Of course, any intense media scrutiny risks being distracting, especially when it is not directly related to the work of the foundation.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for distract
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distract
Adjective
-
In 2021, one year into D’Amaro’s tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The Eagles were a confounding defending champion throughout the regular season.—
Jeff Howe,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The oven was equally perplexing.—
Jason Fried,
The Atlantic,
7 Feb. 2026
-
It’s been part of a perplexing trend this season for Peterson, who has missed 10 full games and notable portions of 10 others with nagging injuries.—
Justin Williams,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
New research suggests that dark matter, the universe's most puzzling and mysterious substance, may not exist.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The economy is in a puzzling place.—
Paul Wiseman,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Asked about now-unavailable data and information, a spokesman for Kennedy said the premise of the Associated Press’ inquiry was flawed and relied on selective and inaccurate characterizations.—
Mike Stobbe,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Heathcliff, too, benefits from some delightfully inaccurate outfitting.—
Madeline Hirsch,
InStyle,
17 Feb. 2026
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
-
James’ beats fractured into a newly bewildering density.—
Sasha Geffen,
Pitchfork,
21 Jan. 2026
-
That the novel is imperfect, often bewildering, and sometimes a mess is not the point.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
1 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Some will always believe their placement incorrect.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Both parties claim problems such as invalid signatures and missing or incorrect voter information on petitions that judicial candidates submit to secure a place on the ballot.—
Kamal Morgan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Some defendants are also accused of conspiring to bribe a civilian contractor to create fraudulent military IDs for base access.—
Steve Patterson,
Florida Times-Union,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Rivers used her professional connection with Event Décor Direct in Deerfield Beach to take money from the event decoration business over a three-month period in 2025, in part by making dozens of fraudulent transactions and credit card purchases, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Distract.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distract. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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