DistractDis*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.
