01 a. Separated; drawn asunder.
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1.
Separated; drawn asunder.[Obs.]
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2.
Insane; mad.[Obs.]
Entry
6 senses · 2 variants
Webster, 1913
Distract
02 v. t. To draw apart or away; to divide; to disjoin.
imp. & p. p.
Distracted; p. p.
Distraught; p. pr. & vb. n.
Distracting
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1.
To draw apart or away; to divide; to disjoin.“A city . . . distracted from itself.” — Fuller.
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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.
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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.
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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.