Distract — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

draw someone's attention away from something

disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ˈɜːθtʌŋ/

🇬🇧British English

/dɪstɹˈakt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dɪstɹˈakt/

2 syllables Say it as /ˈɜːθtʌŋ/.

Examples

The thief distracted the bystanders
He deflected his competitors
She was rather perturbed by the news that her father was seriously ill

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

unhinge trouble disquiet perturb deflect disorder cark

Parts of Speech

verb	draw someone's attention away from something “The thief distracted the bystanders”
verb	disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed “She was rather perturbed by the news that her father was seriously ill”

Word Forms

distraction	noun	the act of distracting; drawing someone's attention away from something
perturbation	noun	an unhappy and worried mental state
disquiet	noun	the trait of seeming ill at ease
trouble	noun	a strong feeling of anxiety

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

ablenken

jemandes Aufmerksamkeit von etwas ablenken

🇫🇷French

distraire

détourner l'attention de quelqu'un de quelque chose

🇪🇸Spanish

distraer

desviar la atención de alguien de algo

🇮🇹Italian

distrarre

distogliere l'attenzione di qualcuno da qualcosa

🇳🇱Dutch

afleiden

iemands aandacht ergens van afleiden

🇵🇹Portuguese

distrair

desviar a atenção de alguém de algo

🇷🇺Russian

отвлекать

отвлекать чье-либо внимание от чего-либо

India

🇮🇳Hindi

विचलित

किसी का ध्यान किसी चीज़ से हटाना

🇧🇩Bengali

বিভ্রান্ত

কিছু থেকে কারো দৃষ্টি আকর্ষণ করা

🇮🇳Tamil

திசைதிருப்ப

யாரோ ஒருவரின் கவனத்தை ஏதோவொன்றில் இருந்து திருப்புங்கள்

🇮🇳Telugu

దృష్టి మరల్చండి

ఒకరి దృష్టిని ఏదో ఒకదాని నుండి మళ్ళించండి

🇮🇳Marathi

विचलित करणे

एखाद्याचे लक्ष एखाद्या गोष्टीपासून दूर करा

🇮🇳Gujarati

વિચલિત

કોઈનું ધ્યાન કોઈ વસ્તુથી દૂર કરો

🇮🇳Kannada

ತಬ್ಬಿಬ್ಬು

ಯಾರೊಬ್ಬರ ಗಮನವನ್ನು ಯಾವುದನ್ನಾದರೂ ಸೆಳೆಯಿರಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ശ്രദ്ധ തിരിക്കുക

ഒരാളുടെ ശ്രദ്ധ എന്തിൽ നിന്നും അകറ്റുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਧਿਆਨ ਭਟਕਾਉਣਾ

ਕਿਸੇ ਦਾ ਧਿਆਨ ਕਿਸੇ ਚੀਜ਼ ਤੋਂ ਦੂਰ ਕਰੋ

🇵🇰Urdu

مشغول

کسی کی توجہ کسی چیز سے ہٹانا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

转移

将某人的注意力从某事上转移开

🇯🇵Japanese

気を散らす

（人）の注意を何かからそらす

🇰🇷Korean

괴롭히다

누군가의 관심을 무언가로부터 다른 곳으로 돌리다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

đánh lạc hướng

thu hút sự chú ý của ai đó khỏi cái gì đó

🇹🇭Thai

กวนใจ

ดึงความสนใจของใครบางคนออกไปจากบางสิ่งบางอย่าง

🇮🇩Indonesian

mengganggu

mengalihkan perhatian seseorang dari sesuatu

🇵🇭Filipino

makaabala

ilayo ang atensyon ng isang tao sa isang bagay

🇲🇾Malay

mengalih perhatian

menarik perhatian seseorang daripada sesuatu

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

يصرف الانتباه

لفت انتباه شخص ما بعيدا عن شيء ما

🇮🇷Persian

حواس پرت کردن

جلب توجه کسی از چیزی

🇹🇷Turkish

dikkatini dağıtmak

birinin dikkatini bir şeyden uzaklaştırmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְהַסִיחַ אֵת הַדַעַת

למשוך את תשומת הלב של מישהו ממשהו

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'distract'?

The primary meaning of 'distract' is 'draw someone's attention away from something'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'distract' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'distract' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'distract' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'distract' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'distract' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'distract' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'distract' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'distract' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'distract' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'distract' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted