Category:Distract

Dis*tract", a. Etym: [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.

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.