distract
distract — verb
1. to cause someone to lose focus on what they are doing because something else pul
to cause someone to lose focus on what they are doing because something else pulls their attention away
Loud music from the street distracted Joon while she studied for her chemistry exam.
Young children are easily distracted by bright colours and sudden movements.
passive: be easily distracted by [stimuli]
Aarav tried to distract his little sister with a toy so she would stop crying.
Please do not distract the driver while the car is moving.
The constant notifications on her phone distracted Layla from finishing her report on time.
- focus
to direct and hold attention steadily on one thing
- concentrate
to give all your attention to a task without letting other things interfere
文法句型
distract + object + from + noun/gerund
distract + object + with + noun
be distracted by + noun
用法筆記
The object is often a person or an animal whose concentration is broken. The thing causing the loss of focus is introduced by the preposition 'by' in passive sentences. 'From' introduces the activity that was interrupted. 'With' introduces the thing used to pull attention away.
常見錯誤
distract — adjective
1. unable to think clearly or control your mind because of mental illness or strong
unable to think clearly or control your mind because of mental illness or strong emotion (old-fashioned use, rarely used in modern English)
In Victorian novels, characters called distracted were often sent to asylums.
historical usage; rarely used this way today
Old medical records listed the patient as 'distracted,' a term no doctor uses today.
Shakespeare used the word 'distracted' to describe characters overcome by grief.
Historians note that the term 'distracted' once served as a medical diagnosis.
A distracted mind, in older texts, meant one that had lost its reason.
用法筆記
This sense is dated and almost never used in contemporary English outside historical or literary contexts. Modern speakers use 'mentally ill,' 'insane,' or 'deranged' instead. Do not use this sense in everyday conversation — it may confuse listeners.