Pronunciation: di- ' strakt
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin distractus, past participle of distrahere, literally, to draw apart, from dis- + trahere to draw
Date: 14th century
1 a : to turn aside : DIVERT <refused to be distract ed from her purpose> b : to draw or direct (as one's attention) to a different object or in different directions at the same time <was distract ed by a sudden noise>
2 : to stir up or confuse with conflicting emotions or motives
synonyms see PUZZLE
– dis · tract · i · bil · i · ty \ - ˌ strak-t ə - ' bi-l ə -t ē \ noun
– dis · tract · ible also dis · tract · able \ - ' strak-t ə -b ə l \ adjective
– dis · tract · ing · ly \ -ti ŋ -l ē \ adverb