Meaning of "distract" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD DISTRACT

From Latin distractus perplexed, from distrahere to pull in different directions, from dis-1 + trahere to drag.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF DISTRACT

distract  [dɪˈstrækt]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF DISTRACT

Distract is a verb.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb distract in English.

WHAT DOES DISTRACT MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Distraction

Distraction is the divided attention of an individual or group from the chosen object of attention onto the source of distraction. Distraction is caused by: the lack of ability to pay attention; lack of interest in the object of attention; or the great intensity, novelty or attractiveness of something other than the object of attention. Distractions come from both external sources, and internal sources.

Definition of distract in the English dictionary

The first definition of distract in the dictionary is to draw the attention of away from something. Other definition of distract is to divide or confuse the attention of. Distract is also to amuse or entertain.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO DISTRACT

PRESENT

Present

I distract

you distract

he/she/it distracts

we distract

you distract

they distract

Present continuous

I am distracting

you are distracting

he/she/it is distracting

we are distracting

you are distracting

they are distracting

Present perfect

I have distracted

you have distracted

he/she/it has distracted

we have distracted

you have distracted

they have distracted

Present perfect continuous

I have been distracting

you have been distracting

he/she/it has been distracting

we have been distracting

you have been distracting

they have been distracting

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I distracted

you distracted

he/she/it distracted

we distracted

you distracted

they distracted

Past continuous

I was distracting

you were distracting

he/she/it was distracting

we were distracting

you were distracting

they were distracting

Past perfect

I had distracted

you had distracted

he/she/it had distracted

we had distracted

you had distracted

they had distracted

Past perfect continuous

I had been distracting

you had been distracting

he/she/it had been distracting

we had been distracting

you had been distracting

they had been distracting

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will distract

you will distract

he/she/it will distract

we will distract

you will distract

they will distract

Future continuous

I will be distracting

you will be distracting

he/she/it will be distracting

we will be distracting

you will be distracting

they will be distracting

Future perfect

I will have distracted

you will have distracted

he/she/it will have distracted

we will have distracted

you will have distracted

they will have distracted

Future perfect continuous

I will have been distracting

you will have been distracting

he/she/it will have been distracting

we will have been distracting

you will have been distracting

they will have been distracting

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would distract

you would distract

he/she/it would distract

we would distract

you would distract

they would distract

Conditional continuous

I would be distracting

you would be distracting

he/she/it would be distracting

we would be distracting

you would be distracting

they would be distracting

Conditional perfect

I would have distract

you would have distract

he/she/it would have distract

we would have distract

you would have distract

they would have distract

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been distracting

you would have been distracting

he/she/it would have been distracting

we would have been distracting

you would have been distracting

they would have been distracting

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you distract
we let´s distract
you distract

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to distract

Past participle

distracted

Present Participle

distracting

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «DISTRACT»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «distract» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of distract

agitate · amuse · beguile · bewilder · confound · confuse · derange · discompose · disconcert · disturb · divert · engross · entertain · lead astray · madden · occupy · perplex · puzzle · sidetrack · torment · trouble

TRANSLATION OF DISTRACT

Find out the translation of distract to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of distract from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «distract» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 转移注意力
• Translator English - Spanish: distraer
• English: distract
• Translator English - Hindi: विचलित
• Translator English - Arabic: يَشْغَلُ
• Translator English - Russian: отвлекать
• Translator English - Portuguese: distrair
• Translator English - Bengali: distortive
• Translator English - French: distraire
• Translator English - Malay: Mengganggu
• Translator English - German: ablenken
• Translator English - Japanese: 注意をそらす
• Translator English - Korean: 산만하게 하다
• Translator English - Javanese: Distorsif
• Translator English - Vietnamese: làm sao lãng
• Translator English - Tamil: distortive
• Translator English - Marathi: विकृत
• Translator English - Turkish: bozucu
• Translator English - Italian: distrarre
• Translator English - Polish: oderwać
• Translator English - Ukrainian: відволікати
• Translator English - Romanian: a distrage
• Translator English - Greek: αποσπώ την προσοχή
• Translator English - Afrikaans: lei
• Translator English - Swedish: distrahera
• Translator English - Norwegian: distrahere

10 QUOTES WITH «DISTRACT»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word distract.

1

Louie Anderson

I really try to have fun. If I don't have fun, you won't have fun. That's what my gift is: to relieve people from a little of the pain and comfort in their lives by allowing my comedy to distract them. A good laugh is almost as good as any doctor visit.

2

Jean Arp

Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation.

3

Aimee Bender

For me as a person, friendships are incredibly important to me, but in writing, they can distract me.

4

Ashley Benson

I've seen a lot of people - for example, Lindsay Lohan - who got into the wrong crowd. I always have my eye on what I want. And I don't want anything to distract me from that.

5

Conrad Black

The Arabs could have peace tomorrow if sufficient numbers of Palestinians were not content to be used as cannon fodder in fruitless assaults on Israel, even as the surrounding Arab powers distract the Arab masses with the red herring of Israel while retarding their countries with their repression and corruption.

6

Jeb Bradley

As millions of Americans look for work, the Obama campaign and Democrats are attempting to distract attention away from this administration's dismal record. The attack they have launched against Mitt Romney shows just how worried they are about facing him in the general election.

7

Margaret Cavendish

For disorder obstructs: besides, it doth disgust life, distract the appetities, and yield no true relish to the senses.

8

Claude Chabrol

You make a film to distract people, to interest them, perhaps to make them think, perhaps to help them be a little less naive, a little better than they were.

9

Viola Davis

I've been online doing all kinds of research and that seems to be the constant criticism, that Aibileen's accent was just too thick. And for me, I don't want anything to distract from the character.

10

Mark Dayton

The Bush Administration claims there is a Social Security crisis only to distract Americans from its serious mismanagement of the federal budget.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «DISTRACT»

Discover the use of distract in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to distract and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Can I Distract You

This is the story of F.J. Fletcher, who suffers from diffuse systemic scleroderma.

F. J. Fletcher, 2012

shiny gods: Finding Freedom from Things That Distract Us

In shiny gods, pastor and author Mike Slaughter, lead pastor of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church and popular author of Christmas Is Not Your Birthday, helps readers reassess priorities and create a culture and a lifestyle of giving with ...

Mike Slaughter, 2013

Dogmatic Wisdom: How the Culture Wars Divert Education and ...

Argues that ongoing ideological and social debates have distracted public attention from the true ailments afflicting American educaton and society

Russell Jacoby, 1994

Statistical Methods for Psychology

Section 16.9 The Factorial Analysis of Covariance Table 16.11 Hypothetical data on smoking and performance (modeled on Spilich et al., 1992) Pattern Recognition NS: Errors Distract DS: Errors Distract AS: Errors Distract 9 107 12 101 8 64 8 ...

David Howell, 2012

The principles of grammar: being a compendious treatise on ...

J ruffling l tempest tempest 2 blows tempest blows,* sinks Now 12 every 1 passion passion 2 sinks passion sinks 9 sinks tol* rest to rest; 7 The! heart throbbing 1 heart heart 2 lies heart lies 9 still 1 heart heart lies and W \ schemes distract will j ...

Solomon Barrett, 1866

Deconstructing Art

In the chapters that follow we will be using the word distract and other related terms quite frequently. It is important, then, that we define this word in such an unambiguous manner that no confusion or misinterpretation will be possible.

Siu Kam Wen, 2007

Distract Me Til I...

J Merritt Lyons artfully delivers this truth in this beautifully crafted collection of short stories. We hope you take the journey into "Distract Me til I..." and share your experience with others.

J. Merritt Lyons, 2010

Wow! Words: Building Children's Powerful Oral Vocabularies

Here's What It Means verb: to take your attention away Synonyms—They have nearly the same meaning. disturb draw away interrupt Figuratively Speaking throw a curve Forms of distract to Share with 5s distracted (verb, adjective) distracting ...

Babs Bell Hajdusiewicz, 2011

The African Grey Parrot Handbook

Once cues have been established, they can be used to distract from unwanted behavior. When we see a misbehavior coming — maybe a nip during step-ups — we can't just say "No." Many birds enjoy the drama of this exchange; others might  ...

Mattie Sue Athan, 2000

And We Are Changed: Encounters with a Transforming God

In one of the letters to Squaltaint, Lord Foulgrin says, “Your job is to help Fletcher move impulsively to fill his emptiness with all the things the Enemy forbids. These have value not simply because they'll destroy him, but because they'll distract ...

Priscilla C. Shirer, 2003

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «DISTRACT»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term distract is used in the context of the following news items.

Hijackers use cold drink to distract motorist

A case of hijacking has been opened after a 31-year-old man was hijacked by armed robbers who allegedly threw cold drink at his face in ... «Citizen, Jul 15»

Beer pong gone wrong: Man attempts to distract opponent with gun …

A 27-year-old man was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm after his attempt to distract a beer pong opponent at a party Saturday night ... «Guns.com, Jul 15»

LETTER: Social issues divide, distract Americans

I'd like to start by commending Robert Lee for his article “Work ethic can save America” (Editorial page, July 4). I, too, agree with your point of ... «Richmond County Daily Journal, Jul 15»

Toddler Can't Distract Dog From Women's World Cup

"Go away, kid, you bother me," this dog would probably say if he could speak. Deuce, a 1 1/2-year-old dog from western Michigan, was ... «Huffington Post, Jul 15»

Safety Experts Warn Smart Car Dashboard Screens Distract Drivers

When it comes to dashboard displays that are more like smart phones, two things are clear: Customers want them, and automakers are intent ... «Insurance Journal, Jul 15»

Rubio: Trump's 'Outrageous Comments' Distract from Real …

Four days after he first put out a statement calling Donald Trump's comments about Mexicans “offensive” and “divisive,” Sen. Marco Rubio ... «Mediaite, Jul 15»

Moments distract from scandal

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- For a few moments over the past month, the Women's World Cup seemed to push aside the FIFA ... «Defiance Crescent News, Jul 15»

Kopitiam altercation a deliberate act to distract public, says K …

The altercation at a kopitiam in Masai, Johor, may have been deliberately created to distract the public from focusing on current issues such as ... «The Rakyat Post, Jul 15»

Heloise: Ads can distract

“I listen to FM radio while driving. My Sound Off is about commercials from car dealerships that use a car horn in the ads. Do they realize how ... «Amarillo.com, Jul 15»

Scott won't distract PF – Mumbi

THE Patriotic Front (PF) is saddened and shocked by former vice-president Guy Scott's disparaging remarks against the party and its ... «Zambia Daily Mail, Jul 15»