Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🔔 Something that interrupts 🎲 An amusement 😵 Mental turmoil
distraction

distraction

11 3.0
A strong feeling of worry that makes you unable to think clearly
  • noun
  • /dɪsˈtrækʃən/
translation icon : desesperación
  • The ongoing family issues left her in a deep distraction, making it difficult for her to focus on everyday tasks.
  • self-distraction

It's when you come back out of this that fog of internal noise and distractions lifted.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Which I have no interest in and would drive me to distraction within weeks!

    Blog text (23)

  • Eugen looks at me, sighs with a kind of weary distraction, as if I have no hope of understanding.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Would drive my poor husband to distraction, not to mention the children.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • We bring it outside, and that additional level of distraction is stressing her out a little bit.

  • "Get to the root of what's driving you to distraction, and question the probability of it.

    Blog text (15)

  • My timidity, my sense of guilt, and my distraction made sure of that from the beginning.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • That's because stress and anxiety are major distractions that come from within.

  • Zo stood all alone, hands pressed to her mouth, in an agony of distraction.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • It's driving me crazy—not crazy, but to distraction, if I had anything else to be distracted from.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • He tried to concentrate on his work, but his worries created a state of distraction that was hard to shake off.

Synonyms

disturbance
vsdistraction
  • Specialized
18 4.1

A problem that makes someone feel worried or emotionally upset

is more intense inner turmoil and agitation than that general trouble
distractedness
vsdistraction
6.2

Not able to pay attention because your mind is on other things

is extreme inner agitation rather than a simple loss of concentration

Antonyms

composure
38 5.1

Calm control of your feelings and actions in a difficult situation

calmness
9 2.7

A state without strong feelings or worry in your mind

How Distressed

distress
240 3.6
distraction
11 3.0
anxiety
423 3.5
worry
290 1.0
unease
19 4.4

Surface Forms

distraction singular
distractions plural

Morphology

distraction = distract (semi-transparent) = dis + tract + ion

Formed the same way from 'distract', but the specific sense 'mental turmoil or extreme agitation' is more figurative/archaic and less predictable to learners.

Etymology

Distraction comes from the parts dis- 'apart' and tract 'to pull', the same root you see in tractor. In the sense of deep upset, distraction is when your thoughts are 'pulled' in many directions so you cannot focus.