DISTRACT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does distract mean? 

• DISTRACT (verb)
  The verb DISTRACT has 2 senses:

1. draw someone's attention away from something

2. disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed

  Familiarity information: DISTRACT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DISTRACT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they distract    ... he / she / it distracts   
Past simple: distracted   
Past participle: distracted   
-ing form: distracting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Draw someone's attention away from something

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

deflect; distract

Context example:

He deflected his competitors

Hypernyms (to "distract" is one way to...):

confuse; disconcert; flurry; put off (cause to feel embarrassment)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

distraction (the act of distracting; drawing someone's attention away from something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

cark; disorder; disquiet; distract; perturb; trouble; unhinge

Context example:

She was rather perturbed by the news that her father was seriously ill

Hypernyms (to "distract" is one way to...):

disturb; trouble; upset (move deeply)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "distract"):

vex; worry (disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

The bad news will distract him
The performance is likely to distract Sue

Derivation:

distraction (mental turmoil)

 Context examples 

He was unable, however, to make his way in, and the maids were too distracted with fear to be of any assistance to him.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Jupiter, the giver of gifts and luck, will move into your twelfth house and bring blessings to the activity you choose to do when you are alone, screening out people who distract you.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I am almost distracted when I think of her; to look at her gives me a pang.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The Palais Royale is a heavenly place, so full of bijouterie and lovely things that I'm nearly distracted because I can't buy them.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

There was purpose in his method—something for him to do that he was intent upon doing and from which nothing could distract him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I saw him do it now, and thought I was going distracted, when his action brought an old remembrance to my mind of a once dear friend.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I was so afraid, you know, that something would happen to put it off, and then I should have gone quite distracted.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

To do this, your brain has to recall the memory of her face and then try to match it without getting distracted by all the other sights and sounds of the crowd.

(How the brain pays attention to faces and places, NIH)

A method of pain control used primarily in pediatrics that combines distracting the patient's attention away from the painful procedure or circumstance.

(Distraction, NCI Thesaurus)

A mind-body practice in which a person focuses his or her attention on something, such as an object, word, phrase, or breathing, in order to minimize distracting or stressful thoughts or feelings.

(Meditation, NCI Dictionary)