From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Distract \Dis*tract"\, verb (used with an object) [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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Distracting \Dis*tract"ing\, adjective Tending or serving to distract.
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