Hypertext Webster Gateway: "distract"

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.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

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.

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 WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

distract
v 1: draw someone's attention away from something; "The thief
distracted the bystanders"; "He deflected his
competitors" [syn: {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}, {disorder}]


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