Crossword Dictionary
DISTRACT
distract, deflect - v
draw someone's attention away from something; "The thief distracted the bystanders"; "He deflected his competitors"
Synonyms
amuse, bewilder, detract, disturb, divert, entertain, fluster, mislead, perplex, puzzle, trouble, abstract, addle, agitate, befuddle, beguile, confound
Examples
You distract me. I've been distracted since the moment I met you. Because all I can think about is how much I want to kiss you.
To distract myself, I was playing a little game wherein I tried to determine which apparatus I hated most.
Countryside robbers are learning the ways of the wild west by stampeding cattle to distract farmers before raiding their homes.
Etymology
late 14c., distracten, "to turn or draw (a person, the mind) aside or away from any object; divert (the attention) from any point toward another point," from Latin distractus, past participle of distrahere "draw in different directions," from dis- "away" (see dis-) + trahere "to draw" (see tract (n.1)).