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distracted

[dih-strak-tid]

adjective

having the attention diverted: She tossed several rocks to the far left and slipped past the distracted sentry.

rendered incapable of behaving, reacting, etc., in a normal manner, as by worry, remorse, or the like; irrational; disturbed.

Origin:
1580–90; distract + -ed²

Related forms

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

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un·dis·tract·ed·ly, adverb

un·dis·tract·ed·ness, noun

COLLAPSE

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Distracted is always a great word to know.

So is bezoar. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Example Sentences

Still, the industry resisted legislative action to ban handsets in cars, as warnings about distracted driving went unheeded.

If they are in their word processors, they do a little work and then get distracted and check their email.

Don't be distracted by this deficit from the well-thought-out content of my post.

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Still, the industry resisted legislative action to ban handsets in cars, as warnings about distracted driving went unheeded.

If they are in their word processors, they do a little work and then get distracted and check their email.

Don't be distracted by this deficit from the well-thought-out content of my post.

The predator is distracted by the detached tail and the lizard can escape.

Brains slow down as they become more easily distracted.

The goal is to locate a monkey that isn't busy doing something else and isn't distracted by other monkeys.

Distracted driving is responsible for many accidents.

Researchers have found an effective way to curb distracted driving among teenagers: capture video of them behind the wheel.

Some are served by part-time jobs, others are distracted by them.

They can fail to feel pain for exactly the same reasons, for example when they are given placebos or are distracted.

At night the eye is not distracted by the radiance of gilded domes.

In contrast, the happy people don't want to be distracted from bliss.

We've been so distracted by signifiers that we've lost track of real significance.

The flashing red light in all of this is the issue of distracted driving, which is not to be taken lightly.

Concerns about distracted driving seem to be growing.

We all allow ourselves to be distracted to avoid the actual, harder tasks.

But the hullabaloo about dollarisation has distracted attention from a quieter trend in the opposite direction.

She needs to get comfortable in the car so that she's not easily distracted.

She was easily distracted and seemed to expect failure in everything she did.

Perhaps kids in small towns are less likely to get distracted by gangs, drugs, etc.

Prosecutors said the driver of the other car was distracted by texting.

Have it at a local coffee shop where you are not distracted by those other commitments.

He has also distracted them from their ambitious domestic agenda.

My dog was much less distracted because he was keyed into his new job of carrying stuff.

Drivers and pedestrians can be distracted and not pay attention to others around them.

Making it through the day when you're stressed, distracted or tired is never fun.

But one interviewee told us later that he was so transfixed by the view that it distracted him.

The nostalgists feel these jeremiads have distracted him from the cutting-edge research that secured his reputation.

Molly's owners had a trainer that said if you were loud, the dog would be distracted from it's negative behavior.

If you need government to tell you this, either you don't drive or you are already distracted.

After he gave them the automotive facts, he distracted them with some simple word games for a few minutes.

If it keeps one distracted moron from killing one other person, it will have succeeded.

Perhaps the sound of too many flapping flags has distracted you from remembering this detail.

We geeks are easily distracted by awesome things that appear in unexpected places.

There's the student him or herself and the other students who can tell something is up and are being distracted by it.

Its customers-mostly larger, established industrial firms-were equally distracted.

Keller had a slightly distracted approach to answering questions.

The safety procedures distracted them for a while, but now they've moved on to flirting.

Medical groups are working hard to make patients more aware of distracted driving and its high toll.

At first it distracted me, and then it became part of the lesson.

But this lush canopy has distracted attention from the understory of the reef, he added.

I've become too busy for you, too distracted with other things that are feeding me in different ways.

Distracted driving has gained much attention lately because of the.

But over a summer, distracted by a major research project, he forgot about the controversy.

They were more distracted than committed to a craft that requires the latter for the social good.

America is distracted by its own financial crisis and an impending change of administration.

Pretty women pedestrians can certainly cause distracted male drivers to get in accidents.

Cuomo said he would propose upgrading so-called distracted driving from a secondary offense to a primary one.

In one case, a man dressed as a chicken apparently distracted bystanders while his accomplices made off with tally sheets.

We would also try hard to find something that distracted him from the stress.

Drivers causing accidents while distracted by gadgets can be sent down for up to five years under forthcoming legislation.

Apart from that, the other main thing is not to get too distracted by the images.

Women are distracted from their career path by the need to stay at home and rear children.

He's not, however, about to become a statistic about tailgating and distracted driving.

Paul airport told investigators that they were distracted by a discussion of a new crew-scheduling system.

He rises early and writes for several hours before he can be distracted by anything else.

Still, voters might be distracted by some cheery economic news.

Their managers are now likely to be distracted from their chief task of turning a profit.

The vote drew an end to an unprecedented series of recall elections that had distracted the state all summer.

Studies have found that a brisk walk can significantly dampen cravings, and eating while distracted adds to waistlines.

It is more common to come across the person who has known the joys of reading but who can be distracted from them.

No idea, she says, distracted by a uniformed policeman who wants to buy a mosquito net.

He forgets whatever he sees or hears within moments, distracted by new events.

Instructors can control content and delivery, and students are not distracted by extraneous or unregulated information.

He must have made some move that was ugly, clumsy or distracted.

Yes, there are hikers distracted by their smartphones.

Mariani's brush with the movie world does not seem to have distracted him from his ongoing writing about the lives of poets.

He stood up and people started talking to him, which distracted him from his anxiety.

Service can be distracted and food under-seasoned or over-cooked.

You're not getting paid to daydream or to be distracted by pretty birds.

The iGrill may be the perfect cure for distracted cooking.

It helped me focus at the beginning of each presentation, but then it distracted me as the presentation progressed.

Students do measurably better in terms of long-term retention when they're not distracted while at a museum, etc.

The statistics on distracted driving are pretty scary.

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged

verb (used with object)

to draw away or divert, as the mind or attention: The music distracted him from his work.

to disturb or trouble greatly in mind; beset: Grief distracted him.

to provide a pleasant diversion for; amuse; entertain: I'm bored with bridge, but golf still distracts me.

to separate or divide by dissension or strife.

adjective

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

Related forms

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

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un·dis·tract·ing·ly, adverb

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
2. bewilder, agitate, pain, torment, distress.

Link To distracted

Collins

World English Dictionary

distracted (dɪˈstræktɪd)

—*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
Cite This Source

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.

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Related: Distracted; distracting.

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Matching Quote

"And they write innumerable books; being too vain and distracted for silence: seeking every one after his own elevation, and dodging his emptiness."

-T.S. Eliot

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