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Antonyms for distract


Grammar : Verb
Spell : dih-strakt
Phonetic Transcription : dɪˈstrækt



Definition of distract

Origin :
  • mid-14c., "to draw asunder or apart, to turn aside" (literal and figurative), from Latin distractus, past participle of distrahere "draw in different directions," from dis- "away" (see dis-) + trahere "to draw" (see tract (n.1)).
  • Sense of "to throw into a state of mind in which one knows not how to act" is from 1580s. Related: Distracted; distracting; distractedly; distractedness.
  • verb divert attention; confuse
Example sentences :
  • He hoped to distract her from such grief over her predicament.
  • Extract from : « Within the Law » by Marvin Dana
  • Recently so many things had arisen to distract her attention.
  • Extract from : « Her Father's Daughter » by Gene Stratton-Porter
  • And then Steve Yerden is enough to distract a leather-man, any way.
  • Extract from : « Samantha Among the Brethren, Part 2. » by Josiah Allen's Wife (Marietta Holley)
  • I do not want to distract his mind from his lessons, and I wish to be quite sure first.
  • Extract from : « Great Uncle Hoot-Toot » by Mrs. Molesworth
  • With an effort, recovering, she sought to distract the girl.
  • Extract from : « Nobody » by Louis Joseph Vance
  • I saw she was deep in thought, and was careful not to disturb or distract her.
  • Extract from : « That Boy Of Norcott's » by Charles James Lever
  • Happily this danger will distract me, or these emotions would make me dizzy.
  • Extract from : « A Romance of the West Indies » by Eugne Sue
  • To distract her attention, instantly Jones improvised a limerick.
  • Extract from : « The Paliser case » by Edgar Saltus
  • Stroeve could not bear to be alone, and I exhausted myself in efforts to distract him.
  • Extract from : « The Moon and Sixpence » by W. Somerset Maugham
  • As long as there is plenty of flimflam to distract the viewer.
  • Extract from : « Toy Shop » by Henry Maxwell Dempsey

Synonyms for distract

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019