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more about distract
distract |
3 definitions found 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 1.6 [wn]: distract v 1: draw someone's attention away from something [syn: {deflect}, {draw away}] 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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