distract

Borrowed from Latin distractus, from distrahō (“to pull apart”), from dis- + trahō (“to pull”).

• IPA^(key): /dɪsˈtɹækt/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ækt

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

1. (transitive) To divert the attention of.

   The crowd was distracted by a helicopter hovering over the stadium when the only goal of the game was scored.

   • 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.

   • 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 65:

     I eschew the idea of plugging in my laptop to take notes and resort to old-fashioned pen and paper instead, so that I can enjoy more of the view and not be distracted by bashing a keyboard.

2. (transitive) To make crazy or insane; to drive to distraction.

• distracted
• distractible
• distracting
• distraction

distract (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Separated; drawn asunder.
2. (obsolete) Insane; mad.
   • 1612, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion, song 6 p. 3:

     (Alone shee beeing left the spoyle of love and death,
     In labour of her griefe outrageously distract,
     The utmost of her spleene on her false lord to act)

• distraught

• adstrict