DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 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.
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 Dis·tract·ing, a. Tending or serving to distract.
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