Search Result for "distract": 
Wordnet 3.0

VERB (2)

1. draw someone's attention away from something;
- Example: "The thief distracted the bystanders"
- Example: "He deflected his competitors"
[syn: distract, deflect]

2. disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed;
- Example: "She was rather perturbed by the news that her father was seriously ill"
[syn: perturb, unhinge, disquiet, trouble, cark, distract, disorder]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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.] [1913 Webster] 2. Insane; mad. [Obs.] --Drayton. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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. [1913 Webster] A city . . . distracted from itself. --Fuller. [1913 Webster] 2. To draw (the sight, mind, or attention) in different directions; to perplex; to confuse; as, to distract the eye; to distract the attention. [1913 Webster] Mixed metaphors . . . distract the imagination. --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster] 3. To agitate by conflicting passions, or by a variety of motives or of cares; to confound; to harass. [1913 Webster] Horror and doubt distract His troubled thoughts. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 4. To unsettle the reason of; to render insane; to craze; to madden; -- most frequently used in the participle, distracted. [1913 Webster] A poor mad soul; . . . poverty hath distracted her. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

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