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Webster 1913 Edition


Distract

Dis-tract′

,
Adj.
[L.
distractus
, p. p. of
distrahere
to draw asunder;
dis-
+
trahere
to draw. See
Trace
, and cf.
Distraught
.]
1.
Separated; drawn asunder.
[Obs.]
2.
Insane; mad.
[Obs.]
Drayton.

Dis-tract′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Distracted
, old
p. p.
Distraught
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Distracting
.]
1.
To draw apart or away; to divide; to disjoin.
A city . . .
distracted
from itself.
Fuller.
2.
To draw (the sight, mind, or attention) in different directions; to perplex; to confuse;
as, to
distract
the eye; to
distract
the attention.
Mixed metaphors . . .
distract
the imagination.
Goldsmith.
3.
To agitate by conflicting passions, or by a variety of motives or of cares; to confound; to harass.
Horror and doubt
distract

His troubled thoughts.
Milton.
4.
To unsettle the reason of; to render insane; to craze; to madden; – most frequently used in the participle, distracted.
A poor mad soul; . . . poverty hath
distracted
her.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition


Distract

DISTRACT

,
Verb.
T.
[L., to draw. See draw and drag. The old participle distraught is obsolete.]
1.
Literally, to draw apart; to pull in different directions, and separate. Hence, to divide; to separate; and hence, to throw into confusion. Sometimes in a literal sense. Contradictory or mistaken orders may distract an army.
2.
To turn or draw from any object; to divert from any point, towards another point or toward various other objects; as, to distract the eye or the attention.
If he cannot avoid the eye of the observer, he hopes to distract it by a multiplicity of the object.
3.
To draw towards different objects; to fill with different considerations; to perplex; to confound; to harass; as, to distract the mind with cares; you distract me with your clamor.
While I suffer thy terrors, I am distracted. Psalm 88.
4.
To disorder the reason; the derange the regular operations of intellect; to render raving or furious; most frequently used in the participle distracted.

DISTRACT

,
Adj.
Mad. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024


distract

distract

English

Verb

distract (third-person singular simple present distracts, present participle distracting, simple past and past participle distracted)

  1. (transitive) To divert the attention of.
    • 2011 December 10, David Ornstein, Arsenal 1-0 Everton”, in BBC Sport:
      While Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had warned his players against letting the pre-match festivities distract them from the task at hand, they clearly struggled for fluency early on.
    • 2013 June 29, Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55:
      Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.
    The crowd was distracted by a helicopter hovering over the stadium when the only goal of the game was scored.

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

distract (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) Separated; drawn asunder.
  2. (obsolete) Insane; mad.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Drayton to this entry?)

See also