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distraction

[dih-strak-shuhn]

noun

the state of being distracted.

mental distress or derangement: That child will drive me to distraction.

that which distracts, divides the attention, or prevents concentration: The distractions of the city interfere with my studies.

that which amuses, entertains, or diverts; amusement; entertainment: Fishing is his major distraction.

EXPAND

division or disorder caused by dissension; tumult.

COLLAPSE

Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Latin distractiōn- (stem of distractiō) separation. See distract, -ion

Synonyms
3. madness, lunacy, insanity, craziness.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To distraction

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Distraction is always a great word to know.

So is gobo. Does it mean:

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

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Example Sentences

The jets screaming by at treetop level might have spoiled another demonstration, but they were not a distraction yesterday.

Worrying about who is taking care of parents or grandparents can be a strong distraction and interfere with effective adjustment.

Others decry it as a distraction from the need to cut costs and improve quality in rich-world health systems.

EXPAND

The jets screaming by at treetop level might have spoiled another demonstration, but they were not a distraction yesterday.

Worrying about who is taking care of parents or grandparents can be a strong distraction and interfere with effective adjustment.

Others decry it as a distraction from the need to cut costs and improve quality in rich-world health systems.

Up here, there is no distraction other than the fish living in the lake.

Deouell and his team performed a series of experiments, each involving a different distraction and orientation of sounds.

It's not that elderly people pay more attention to distraction.

Rodents in restaurants, while distasteful, are more a distraction than a disaster for public health.

It's a long stretch in the chair so bring an iPod or some form of distraction.

On the campaign trail, populist rhetoric serves as a distraction.

The goal is to have the character of the subject come through without distraction.

Distraction appears to be an effective technique to avoid the phantom noise of tinnitus.

Causing a distraction is a great way to interrupt a fight.

Improve your ability to avoid distraction and increase your work productivity and concentration.

In addition, you can use it as a distraction so that your current adviser doesn't notice that you are out looking for a new one.

For the banks, the deal removes an important distraction from business.

There is no distraction from the hundreds of feet below or the thousands yet to come.

But when it comes down to it, it is a distraction from real sources of sustainable energy.

We'll let you decide if the constant blinking would be a distraction.

Accompanied by music, shadow theater brought good luck at weddings and offered welcome distraction at funerals.

Much of the argument turns on whether online writing should be seen as a welcome new direction or a harmful distraction.

They embraced the internet but avoided the distraction of digital downloads.

As a result, you can spend a whole day examining magnificent ruins without distraction.

As a result guided tours of local curiosities became popular as a distraction.

With more motorists dialing and driving than ever, lawmakers have tried to find ways of reducing driver distraction.

While the screen has some benefits, it lacks tactile feedback and can be a distraction.

On some accounts, it has simply addled their brains, destroying their powers of concentration forever by dint of distraction.

More significant than the losses was the distraction for management.

For others who have come to terms with the nature of the wandering mind, distraction is a source to strength and inspiration.

Our first reaction to a motorcycle night-vision system was to think it would be a distraction.

Azerbaijan's contest victory was a welcome distraction for some from social tensions that emerged this spring.

She has so many valuable things to say about writing that the other stuff becomes a tedious distraction.

In the longer term, however, their presence will be a distraction.

Dreams may represent merely an entertaining distraction while the necessary memory maintenance is being performed.

Or it is getting to be lunch time, you are nowhere near home yet and your kids need a distraction.

Arguments about global warming are often a distraction from the real issues.

Even at full retail, a good novel offers hours of distraction for a reasonable price.

We absolutely forbade parents to feed their children sugar as it makes them uncontrollable and a distraction to the whole group.

And you reduce the clutter on a typical page, offering much less distraction.

The biggest distraction was my family, as various family members.

The second worry is that size seems to be something of a distraction.

Other studies show drivers feel less distraction when they can control the lighting level.

The probe went nowhere but was a genuine distraction.

If efforts to do good become a distraction from the core business they may actually be downright irresponsible.

Brains narrowed focus not by enhancing their targets, but by diminishing distraction.

Maybe the pastor asked them to leave because they were becoming a distraction.

Such divisions are a huge distraction from the mammoth task facing the opposition.

Better to avoid the issue and rely upon distraction than encounter the core of the poster's argument.

The other risk is that foreign hyperactivity turns into a distraction from economic reform.

To distract the audience from the message is only a distraction from the original message about veteran students.

The number of blue lights going on and off all around me was a constant distraction and demonstrated bad manners to the guest.

Throwing moldy old religious cant into the mix is a distraction at best.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

distraction (dɪˈstrækʃən)

—n
1.	the act or an instance of distracting or the state of being distracted
2.	something that serves as a diversion or entertainment
3.	an interruption; an obstacle to concentration
4.	mental turmoil or madness

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

distraction

mid-15c., from L. distractionem, noun of action from distrahere (see distract). Meaning "mental disturbance" (in driven to distraction, etc.) is c.1600.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

distraction dis·trac·tion (dĭ-strāk'shən)
n.

A condition or state of mind in which the attention is diverted from an original focus or interest.
Separation of bony fragments or joint surfaces of a limb by extension.

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"At painful times, when composition is impossible and reading is not enough, grammars and dictionaries are excellent for distraction."

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

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