distract

distract
    v 1: draw someone's attention away from something; "The thief
         distracted the bystanders"; "He deflected his competitors"
         [syn: {distract}, {deflect}]
    2: disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or
       alarmed; "She was rather perturbed by the news that her
       father was seriously ill" [syn: {perturb}, {unhinge},
       {disquiet}, {trouble}, {cark}, {distract}, {disorder}]
    

Distract \Dis*tract"\, a. [L. distractus, p. p. of distrahere to
   draw asunder; dis- + trahere to draw. See {Trace}, and cf.
   {Distraught}.]
   1. Separated; drawn asunder. [Obs.]
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   2. Insane; mad. [Obs.] --Drayton.
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Distract \Dis*tract"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Distracted}, old p.
   p. {Distraught}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Distracting}.]
   1. To draw apart or away; to divide; to disjoin.
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            A city . . . distracted from itself.  --Fuller.
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   2. To draw (the sight, mind, or attention) in different
      directions; to perplex; to confuse; as, to distract the
      eye; to distract the attention.
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            Mixed metaphors . . . distract the imagination.
                                                  --Goldsmith.
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   3. To agitate by conflicting passions, or by a variety of
      motives or of cares; to confound; to harass.
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            Horror and doubt distract
            His troubled thoughts.                --Milton.
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   4. To unsettle the reason of; to render insane; to craze; to
      madden; -- most frequently used in the participle,
      distracted.
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            A poor mad soul; . . . poverty hath distracted her.
                                                  --Shak.
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80 Moby Thesaurus words for "distract":
      absorb, addle, agitate, amuse, ball up, befuddle, beguile, bemuse,
      bewilder, blunt, bother, bug, call away, chill, confound, confuse,
      convulse, cool, craze, damp, dampen, daze, deflect, delight,
      dement, derange, deter, detract, detract attention, disaffect,
      discompose, disconcert, discourage, disincline, disinterest,
      disturb, divert, divert the mind, drive insane, drive mad, embroil,
      engross, entertain, fluster, frenzy, fuddle, gratify, indispose,
      interest, mad, madden, make mad, mix up, mystify, occupy, perplex,
      perturb, psych, put off, puzzle, quench, rattle, repel, send mad,
      shatter, sidetrack, spook, throw, throw into confusion, throw off,
      trouble, turn aside, turn away, turn from, turn off, unbalance,
      unhinge, unsettle, upset, wean from