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distract

 - 3 dictionary results

dis⋅tract

  [di-strakt]
Use distract in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to draw away or divert, as the mind or attention: The music distracted him from his work.
2. to disturb or trouble greatly in mind; beset: Grief distracted him.
3. to provide a pleasant diversion for; amuse; entertain: I'm bored with bridge, but golf still distracts me.
4. to separate or divide by dissension or strife.
–adjective
5. Obsolete. distracted.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L distractus (ptp. of distrahere to draw apart), equiv. to dis- dis- 1 + trac- (var. s. of trahere to draw) + -tus ptp. suffix

Related forms:
dis⋅tract⋅i⋅ble, adjective
dis⋅tract⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
2. bewilder, agitate, pain, torment, distress.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To distract
dis·tract   (dĭ-strākt')   
tr.v.   dis·tract·ed, dis·tract·ing, dis·tracts

  1. To cause to turn away from the original focus of attention or interest; divert.

  2. To pull in conflicting emotional directions; unsettle.


[Middle English distracten, from Latin distrahere, distract-, to pull away : dis-, apart; see dis- + trahere, to draw.]
dis·tract'i·bil'i·ty n., dis·tract'i·ble adj., dis·tract'ing·ly adv., dis·trac'tive adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

distract 
c.1340, "to draw asunder or apart" (lit. and figurative), from L. distractus, pp. of distrahere "draw in different directions," from dis- "away" + trahere "to draw" (see tract (1)). Sense of "to throw into a state of mind in which one knows not how to act" is from 1583.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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