distract

4 definitions found

distract - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Distract \Dis*tract"\, a. [L. distractus, p. p. of distrahere to
     draw asunder; dis- + trahere to draw. See Trace, and cf.
     Distraught.]
     1. Separated; drawn asunder. [Obs.]
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     2. Insane; mad. [Obs.] --Drayton.
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  Distract \Dis*tract"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Distracted, old p.
     p. Distraught; p. pr. & vb. n. Distracting.]
     1. To draw apart or away; to divide; to disjoin.
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              A city . . . distracted from itself.  --Fuller.
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     2. To draw (the sight, mind, or attention) in different
        directions; to perplex; to confuse; as, to distract the
        eye; to distract the attention.
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              Mixed metaphors . . . distract the imagination.
                                                    --Goldsmith.
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     3. To agitate by conflicting passions, or by a variety of
        motives or of cares; to confound; to harass.
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              Horror and doubt distract
              His troubled thoughts.                --Milton.
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     4. To unsettle the reason of; to render insane; to craze; to
        madden; -- most frequently used in the participle,
        distracted.
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              A poor mad soul; . . . poverty hath distracted her.
                                                    --Shak.
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distract - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  distract
      v 1: draw someone's attention away from something; "The thief
           distracted the bystanders"; "He deflected his competitors"
           [syn: distract, deflect]
      2: disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or
         alarmed; "She was rather perturbed by the news that her
         father was seriously ill" [syn: perturb, unhinge,
         disquiet, trouble, cark, distract, disorder]

distract - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  80 Moby Thesaurus words for "distract":
     absorb, addle, agitate, amuse, ball up, befuddle, beguile, bemuse,
     bewilder, blunt, bother, bug, call away, chill, confound, confuse,
     convulse, cool, craze, damp, dampen, daze, deflect, delight,
     dement, derange, deter, detract, detract attention, disaffect,
     discompose, disconcert, discourage, disincline, disinterest,
     disturb, divert, divert the mind, drive insane, drive mad, embroil,
     engross, entertain, fluster, frenzy, fuddle, gratify, indispose,
     interest, mad, madden, make mad, mix up, mystify, occupy, perplex,
     perturb, psych, put off, puzzle, quench, rattle, repel, send mad,
     shatter, sidetrack, spook, throw, throw into confusion, throw off,
     trouble, turn aside, turn away, turn from, turn off, unbalance,
     unhinge, unsettle, upset, wean from