verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
easily
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He's easily distracted from anything that isn't creative writing, though, very up-and-down.
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For example, consider a very sensitive child who is easily distracted by every sight and sound around her.
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They are often too easily distracted by their own anxiety.
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No wonder she was easily distracted and forgetful at school.
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My first weakness is that I get easily distracted when I study.
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Once they are on task, they are easily distracted by other children or even by objects on their desk.
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The more she does this, the more easily distracted she is.
too
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But Ronni, distracted too , reacted too slowly.
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What you want in a counselling room is something welcoming but not too distracting .
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The Goddard visitors' center was one possibility, but the various displays seemed too distracting .
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Yet tonight he could not relax; he was too distracted , ill-at-ease with the atmosphere in his own household.
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So he was too distracted by other matters to focus on the East.
■ NOUN
attention
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Such comments have distracted attention from a long-awaited improvement in the economy.
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But his banter was a way of distracting attention from the issue at hand.
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Instead, distract your child's attention from the buckles by fitting a play tray over the top.
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Combine roses with earlier or later flowering plants, and with evergreens to distract attention from their leafless stems in winter.
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His clumsy attempt to distract her attention was all the warning she needed.
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He gestures at the building behind him, as if trying to distract the animal's attention .
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He distracts attention with homophobic rants and attacks on opposition politicians and journalists.
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Rachel could have brought the snow in and let it melt soas to distract attention from herself.
child
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Once they are on task, they are easily distracted by other children or even by objects on their desk.
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The stern overseer would never have allowed her to distract the other children .
mind
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I hoped that it would distract his mind from his problems at work.
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They could exchange gossip about the parish; anything to distract his mind .
thought
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At least then there would have been the chatter of her neighbours to distract her thoughts .
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Just then, however, came an interruption which distracted the thoughts of every man there.
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The arrival of Joanna, brought from hospital by Ian, distracted her from sorrowful thoughts , for which she was thankful.
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When distracting thoughts occur, try to ignore them by not dwelling upon them and return to your breathing exercise.
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Finally, my mind was distracted by thoughts of home.
■ VERB
become
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No one suggests that the workaholic Harrison dallied or became distracted .
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It becomes heavy work to distract Harriet from brooding about lost Elton.
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But, the reader will become confused and distracted by passives, so avoid them.
get
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I'd love to tell you what he did with it but I must not get distracted from the task in hand.
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When you see jargon from other industries, you probably get confused and distracted , wanting familiar terms instead.
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We are well aware by now that history makes mistakes, that it gets distracted , falls asleep, loses its way.
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My first weakness is that I get easily distracted when I study.
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The bomb-sniffing system runs automatically and does not get distracted or tired.
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I get nervous, or get distracted .
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And like a little kid, he is interested in everything, often getting distracted .
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A toddler may tune out and get distracted when pictures in a book become too intricate.
seem
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At its best the effect is like film music; at its worst it seems distracting .
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In fact, if you have called me on the phone recently and noticed that I seemed distracted , take no offense.
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Everyone seemed cool and distracted , uninterested in trade or cultural exchanges.
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The Goddard visitors' center was one possibility, but the various displays seemed too distracting .
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But she seemed distracted and moody, crying one moment, giggling the next.
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Hinds seemed more subdued, distracted .
try
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If the area concerned is not suitable, you should try to distract their attention elsewhere.
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He tried everything to distract me.
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He gestures at the building behind him, as if trying to distract the animal's attention.
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I was trying to distract people from the craziness in which we live; and definitely not point the finger at it.
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If he walked fast he was too aware of trying to distract himself.
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The babysitter would try to distract Hannah while they sneaked out the door to work.
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She plunged deeply into work to try and distract herself.
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Always the perfect aide, Serrigny tried to distract him with Rabelaisian reminiscences from army life of twenty years ago.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
divert/distract/draw attention from sth
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But his banter was a way of distracting attention from the issue at hand.
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Combine roses with earlier or later flowering plants, and with evergreens to distract attention from their leafless stems in winter.
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It also distracted attention from the continued effects of racism.
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Lisa tells us it diverts attention from the pain.
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Police said the message was a decoy to distract attention from the real danger area.
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Such comments have distracted attention from a long-awaited improvement in the economy.
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The authorities are said to take the view that the Gulf war will distract attention from civilian casualties in Jaffna.
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They know how to make themselves look good, and they also know how to divert attention from the less flattering stories.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Don't distract me while I'm driving!
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Don't distract your father while he's driving.
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I was distracted by the sound of a car alarm in the street.
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The couple behind us kept distracting everyone by talking during the movie.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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A horizontal striping pattern distracts the eye and disguises the pattern of light and dark.
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A more complicated mount might have distracted one's eye from the flowers and the frame.
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A plot should always be strong enough to distract you from hats.
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Alan is moving slowly, apparently distracted by other cases.
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I'd love to tell you what he did with it but I must not get distracted from the task in hand.
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She looked rather as the Duchess of Windsor did in distracted old age.
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To distract myself, I was playing a little game wherein I tried to determine which apparatus I hated most.