# distract

Pronunciation: US say "di-STRAKT" /dɪˈstɹækt/; UK

## Verb

1. To divert someone's attention away from what they are doing or should be focused on.
   - Simple: To pull someone's attention away from what they are doing.
   - _A buzzing phone can distract anyone trying to concentrate._
   - _The salesman's chatter distracted her from reading the contract carefully._
2. To drive someone to madness; to make a person lose their reason.
   - Simple: To make someone so upset that they lose control of their mind.
   - _Prolonged isolation can distract even a strong mind._
   - _The endless waiting and uncertainty distracted him almost beyond reason._

## Adjective

3. Out of one's mind; insane or mentally deranged. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Mad and out of one's right mind.
   - _By morning the prisoner was wholly distract, raving at the walls._
   - _Grief left the widow distract for many weeks._
4. Drawn apart; pulled in different directions or separated. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Pulled apart into separate pieces or directions.

## Origin

Borrowed from Latin distractus, from distrahō ("to pull apart"), which combines dis- with trahō ("to pull").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/distract (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).