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Also available:
World English Dictionary
Dictionnaire Français
distract
dis·tract
[
di strákt
]
(
past and past participle
dis·tract·ed
,
present participle
dis·tract·ing
,
3rd person present singular
dis·tracts
)
transitive verb
Definition:
1.
catch somebody's attention:
to take somebody's attention away from what he or she is doing or thinking or from what is happening
2.
amuse somebody:
to amuse or entertain somebody, especially as a means of taking his or her mind off something unpleasant
3.
make somebody uneasy:
to unsettle somebody's mind with disturbing, confusing, or conflicting emotions
(
archaic
)
[
14th century. < Latin
distract-
, past participle of
distrahere
"draw away" <
trahere
"draw, drag"
]
dis·tract·i·bil·i·ty
[
di stràktə bíllətee
]
noun
dis·tract·i·ble
[
di stráktəb'l
]
adjective
dis·trac·tive
[
di stráktiv
]
adjective
Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
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dis·tract·i·bil·i·ty [ di stràktə bíllətee ] noundis·tract·i·ble [ di stráktəb'l ] adjectivedis·trac·tive [ di stráktiv ] adjective
