to distract

Examples

• All

• I call it an attempt to distract you from your secret.

  I'm Not Gay : A Musical (2023)

• Students reported they were often distracted by friends, social media, family, and work.

  Academic text (2013)

• So yeah, just try and distract yourself as much as possible.

  sophdoeslife

• You still get a benefit if you distract yourself and then go to bed.

• That should distract him long enough for us to get in there.

  The China Syndrome (1979)

• I'm going to lay in bed and be sad and distract myself with my shows.

• Second, find a soothing activity to distract yourself.

  People Like Us (2012)

• Perfect timing as the cop looks around, suddenly distracted by the crowd yelling something.

  Fiction book (1991)

• Informants reported that Evan was easily distracted and did not consistently turn in his work.

  Academic text (2013)

• The loud music began to distract the students from their studies.

Synonyms

D

to distract from

vsto distract

82 3.3

To make someone stop paying attention to something by showing something else

is the basic verb form used without a following preposition

D

to deflect

vsto distract

76 4.6

To turn attention away from a person or thing

takes attention away but not necessarily as a protective action

D

to divert

vsto distract

41 4.7

To keep someone pleasantly occupied by giving them something fun

removes attention without implying amusement or pleasantness

S

to sidetrack

vsto distract

30 4.6

To make someone stop focusing on the main subject by bringing up another topic

removes attention broadly rather than only interrupting the main line

S

to shift focus

vsto distract

14 3.8

Change what you pay attention to

takes attention away but may not imply intentional redirection

D

to deflect attention

vsto distract

6 5.2

To make people look at something else to avoid criticism

takes attention away but not always to avoid blame

D

to defocus

vsto distract

6.7

To move attention away from something so people think about it less

takes attention away actively rather than gently lowering focus

Antonyms

E

to engage

117 3.5

To keep someone's full attention

Phrasal Verbs

D

to distract from

82 3.3

To make someone stop paying attention to something by showing something else

How Distracting

to obsess

304 5.5

to preoccupy

70 6.3

to distract

513 2.1

to sidetrack

30 4.6

to divert

41 4.7

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology