distract : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: distract	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for distract
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
distract v draw someone's attention away from something; "The thief distracted the bystanders"; "He deflected his competitors" Synonym(s): distract, deflect 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" Synonym(s): perturb, unhinge, disquiet, trouble, cark, distract, disorder
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Distract \Distract"\, 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. 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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
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.] 2. Insane; mad. [Obs.] --Drayton.