Library / English Dictionary

DISTRACT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Example:

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

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Draw someone's attention away from something

Example:

He deflected his competitors

Synonyms:

deflect; distract

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

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)

Credits

 Context examples: 

“I am quite well. This kindness distracts me—I cannot bear it—I come to you on such an errand!”

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Sufficient for me to share the sport and lend my humble help to the capture without distracting that intent brain with needless interruption.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

My friend, who loved above all things precision and concentration of thought, resented anything which distracted his attention from the matter in hand.

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

This may result in better protection against distracting and irrelevant inputs.

(Smart People Have Better Connected Brains, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The team analyzed whether mothers responded to their baby’s cries by showing affection, distracting, nurturing (like feeding or diapering), picking up and holding, or talking.

(Study identifies brain patterns underlying mothers’ responses to infant cries, National Institutes of Health)

Our ability to selectively forget distracting memories is shared with other mammals, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge.

(Selective amnesia: how rats and humans are able to actively forget distracting memories, University of Cambridge)

There would be less to distract the attention from without, and it would not be tried so long.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

But for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results.

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

It made little audible gurgles which distracted me.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Apparently, most came about when people were simply distracted by their cell phones.

(Mobile phone could cause physical pain, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)