distract Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb draw someone's attention away from something
    deflect.
    • The thief distracted the bystanders
    • He deflected his competitors
  2. verb disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed
    perturb; disquiet; cark; trouble; disorder; unhinge.
    • She was rather perturbed by the news that her father was seriously ill

WordNet

Dis*tract" adjective
Etymology
L. distractus, p. p. of distrahere to draw asunder; dis- + trahere to draw. See Trace, and cf. Distraught.
Definitions
  1. Separated; drawn asunder. Obs.
  2. Insane; mad. Obs. Drayton.
Dis*tract" transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Distracted, old past participle Distraught; present participle & verbal noun Distracting
Definitions
  1. To draw apart or away; to divide; to disjoin.
    A city . . . distracted from itself. Fuller.
  2. To draw (the sight, mind, or attention) in different directions; to perplex; to confuse; as, to distract the eye; to distract the attention.
    Mixed metaphors . . . distract the imagination. Goldsmith.
  3. To agitate by conflicting passions, or by a variety of motives or of cares; to confound; to harass.
    Horror and doubt distract His troubled thoughts. Milton.
  4. To unsettle the reason of; to render insane; to craze; to madden; -- most frequently used in the participle, distracted.
    A poor mad soul; . . . poverty hath distracted her. Shak.

Webster 1913