dis·tract·ed

[dih-strak-tid]
adjective
1.
having the attention diverted: She tossed several rocks to the far left and slipped past the distracted sentry.
2.
rendered incapable of behaving, reacting, etc., in a normal manner, as by worry, remorse, or the like; irrational; disturbed.

Origin:
1580–90; distract + -ed2

dis·tract·ed·ly, adverb
dis·tract·ed·ness, noun
non·dis·tract·ed, adjective
non·dis·tract·ed·ly, adverb
un·dis·tract·ed, adjective
un·dis·tract·ed·ly, adverb
un·dis·tract·ed·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged

dis·tract

[dih-strakt]
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; Middle English < Latin distractus (past participle of distrahere to draw apart), equivalent to dis- dis-1 + trac- (variant stem of trahere to draw) + -tus past participle suffix

dis·tract·i·ble, adjective
dis·tract·ing·ly, adverb
non·dis·tract·ing, adjective
non·dis·tract·ing·ly, adverb
un·dis·tract·ing, adjective
un·dis·tract·ing·ly, adverb


2. bewilder, agitate, pain, torment, distress.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To distracted
00:10
Distracted is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Collins
World English Dictionary
distract (dɪˈstrækt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  (often passive) to draw the attention of (a person) away from something
2.  to divide or confuse the attention of (a person)
3.  to amuse or entertain
4.  to trouble greatly
5.  to make mad
 
[C14: from Latin distractus perplexed, from distrahere to pull in different directions, from dis-1 + trahere to drag]
 
dis'tracter
 
n
 
dis'tractible
 
adj
 
distracti'bility
 
n
 
dis'tracting
 
adj
 
dis'tractingly
 
adv
 
dis'tractive
 
adj
 
dis'tractively
 
adv

distracted (dɪˈstræktɪd) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  bewildered; confused
2.  mad
 
dis'tractedly
 
adv
 
dis'tractedness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

distract
mid-14c., "to draw asunder or apart" (literal 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 1580s.
Related: Distracted; distracting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Some are served by part-time jobs, others are distracted by them.
But one interviewee told us later that he was so transfixed by the view that it
  distracted him.
Students do measurably better in terms of long-term retention when they're not
  distracted while at a museum, etc.
She was easily distracted and seemed to expect failure in everything she did.
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