Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Distract
Dis-tract′
,Adj.
[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.
Dis-tract′
,Verb.
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
His troubled thoughts.
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. Shakespeare
Webster 1828 Edition
Distract
DISTRACT
,Verb.
T.
1.
Literally, to draw apart; to pull in different directions, and separate. Hence, to divide; to separate; and hence, to throw into confusion. Sometimes in a literal sense. Contradictory or mistaken orders may distract an army.2.
To turn or draw from any object; to divert from any point, towards another point or toward various other objects; as, to distract the eye or the attention.If he cannot avoid the eye of the observer, he hopes to distract it by a multiplicity of the object.
3.
To draw towards different objects; to fill with different considerations; to perplex; to confound; to harass; as, to distract the mind with cares; you distract me with your clamor.While I suffer thy terrors, I am distracted. Psalm 88.
4.
To disorder the reason; the derange the regular operations of intellect; to render raving or furious; most frequently used in the participle distracted.DISTRACT
,Adj.