How To Use Distract In A Sentence

The "clack" of the Nikon has created so many uncomfortable moments distracting the talent and most recently Kid Rock asked me to use a different camera. News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
The pursuit of such metaphysical questions is just a high-minded distraction from the more pressing issue of confronting the dilemma of one's existence here and now.
It's an evolutionary trick to distract the pursuer, much as lizards lose their tails.
I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions.
I was standing in some kind of wooded area and looking around Probably trying to find any distraction to keep me from going for my lecture and I did eventually find that tap-dancing squirrel but that's a story for another post and then somehow bits and pieces began to hit me. Archive 2005-02-01

Cunnah is unlikely to let something like a labour dispute distract him from the job in hand.
Only some people believe that a guy who called criticism "distraction" is a good guy. Clinton has big lead in Kentucky, Obama on top in Oregon
A distraction may cause it to wander off into the road, with fatal consequences.
It was an opportunity for a politician to grab some cheap brownie points without risk, because it would involve apologising for something he had no responsibility for --- a great distractor. Making Tea For Alan Turing
Frenetic attempts to distract and comfort him may actually overstimulate him and increase his levels of arousal. Times, Sunday Times
Katie and Matt were boring me this morning, so I popped in a DVD for distraction and watched him get plowed while lying in a sink.
The animation of insentient or nonhuman entities produces an effect of cacophony and distraction.
He used this distraction to swipe at the dog's hind quarters.
This was a man who had no intention of allowing any error to distract from his all-important evidence in defence of the Government.
Mumbling distractedly, she conducts me through the hundreds of exhibits.
Reuters distributes this shot which, from the way everyone is caught in the moment, seems to capture Obama ogling, or at least gamely distracted by this junior G-8 delegate (set up by the notorious Sarkozy seeming to also look on lecherously). Michael Shaw: Reading the Pictures: Reuters Obama Booty Call
We should integrate literacy into play only if it furthers a play theme in progress, and we should avoid literacy props that may distract children from make-believe.
On Lag 0 Ignored Repetition trials, the probe target was reassigned the word that appeared as the distractor in the second prime display.
Some students will perform the exercise best if naked and undistracted by clothing touching them. THE GOLDEN FOOL: BOOK TWO OF THE TAWNY MAN
But the cup will give the club a much-needed distraction from these worries - and hopefully the shot in the arm they need.
At Tin House, at the magazine and in the books division, we're looking for writing that edifies the reader, not something that distracts them Fox's programming has that pretty-well covered. Tin House
I cleared my throat to distract from the infelicity of the phrase. THE CALLIGRAPHER
It seems that the elicitation of responses under these conditions is mediated by an alleviation of the effects of negative attentional processing (reflected in distracting worries or negative thoughts).
Leaving it right on the edge is a bit distracting. The Beginner's Guide to Better Fishing Photography
It is better to focus our attention on that now than to be distracted by anything else.
Threats of a bomb or a threat on the life of a hostage can't be accepted, but the speed and decisiveness of the onrush might just so distract the terrorists that they are overpowered before a hostage is killed.
Junior faculty members, in particular, want to ensure that their blogs are not a distraction from their primary research.
You know, boys were frolicsome, so they would distract your attention when you were doing things.
The beats on Revolutionary Vol.2 might seem a little minimalist to some, but Immortal is that caliber of emcee who needs no distractions when he's on the mic to make his words felt.
The nearest distraction is probably the Concord Turnpike, a half mile north of the pond.
' He mimicked a vague distraction, waved his fingers elegantly. THE QUEST FOR K
Glenn also has pictures of the event, which will no doubt start the usual discussion about how many right-of-center people showed up to protest, in the hopes that it will distract people from the more interesting point that right-of-center people are now increasingly likely to show up to protest … Kill the Bill rally in Washington. | RedState
It might appear from the above that postures, breathing techniques and sensory control automatically purge the mind of distractions and bring about equilibrium and calm.
When the tournament is held before the season, not in the middle of it, players aren't tired, nursing injuries or distracted by their seasons.
Today's intellectual pessimism and cultural disorientation distracts the human imagination from confronting challenges that lie ahead.
Seated in the theatre's lower gallery, I found myself distracted, not for the first time, by the endless gropings of the groundlings.
Seeing it at the cinema is always both more powerful and ‘easier’ than watching it at home on video or DVD: it's far harder to summon the conditions for entrancement in a domestic space full of distractions and business.
From the distracted and despairing man whom love and longing trepan from the lover under passion’s ban the prisoner of transport and distraction from this Kamar al-Zaman son of Shahriman to the peerless one of the fair Houris the pearl-union to the Lady Budur daughter of King Al Ghayur The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night
The narcotic rhythms are punctuated with a series of brief freeze-frames, an initially distracting device which lends a woozy, hung-over perspective to a woozy, perpetually hung-over protagonist.
Any company that advertises itself as ‘fun’ is simply making a desperate and futile attempt to distract attention away from the soul-destroying mundanity that is the reality of its day-to-day life.
I decided to try to ignore it as I did not want anything to distract me from my purpose.
There's almost no national ailment that he feels can't be solved, or at least distracted from, by taking off his suit jacket, loosening his tie and suggesting a good old-fashioned knees-up. You're the prime minister, Cameron. Please stop behaving like the David Brent of British politics | Sam Delaney
The painting is in High Renaissance style: posed and not photorealistic, which doesn't distract the viewer from the Christian symbolism that defines the piece and also most of the era's artwork. Home
A final possibility centres around a likeliness that exercise success here was more due to the presence of fun and enjoyment, than the use of distraction.
Michaelis made a clumsy attempt to distract him.
The burgeoning multitude of reality TV programmes drives me to distraction and is a deterrent to buying services that provide even more channels dispensing the same kind of dross.
a mid-shot, thus filmically undermining their statements by including visual distractions within the camera frame. ANC Daily News Briefing
I wash my dishes weekly, bath tidemarks don't distract me.
Scooping his own jacket up, Shanza gave it a distracted shake and tossed it over his shoulders in a dazed stupor.
The distracted cyclist flew over the handlebars and landed on the pavement.
Compare Lu 10: 39, Mary; Lu 2: 37, "Anna ... a widow, who departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day" (1Ti 5: 5). distraction -- the same Greek as "cumbered" (Lu 10: 40, Martha). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
If anyone's interested in gifting Spooky and me with the distractions that help to make this existence bearable, in the form of Solstice gifts, we have both updated our Amazon wish lists. "I'm living in an age that calls darkness light..."
Except while you are teetering on the precipice of your next upchuck, the only thing you crave is to be distracted.
Rachel could have brought the snow in and let it melt soas to distract attention from herself.
The very loud conversation going on next to me is very distracting.
With nothing but the gentle slap of one piece of pasteboard against another to distract him, Sam slipped imperceptibly from daydreaming into sleep.
Why is Zinn voting for a “distractor whose campaigns put the planet at risk of further right wing control”? Is Howard Zinn a Parasite?
Then it really is better to send people home, and let the swat teams and burn squads ship the thing undistracted.
It was envisioned, the story goes, as a short-term, inconsequential distraction, not a lasting symbol of the Tory campaign's ineptitude and crudity.
She nods frantically, distractedly, ponytail slicing a semi-circle through the air as she about-faces for a new strip of floor to stomp across.
But focusing on electoral politics and economic development distracts us from the truly ugly side of our southern neighbor.
In the midst of crowded environment, his mind is collected and undistracted.
When you are having a telephone conversation you are more likely to be distracted and let your attention wander.
I promise I won't ask this again, but will you do me a favour and distract me from my creeped outness right now? Blog: Dramatics
It's all a bundle of contradictions: The shows are showier, but we're more distracted, yet also encouraged to engage more. Eats and Tweets in the Seats
It becomes heavy work to distract Harriet from brooding about lost Elton.
It's almost a kind of compositional sleight-of-hand, as Sting uses catchy melodies and pop-savvy arrangements to distract our attention away from just how crafty these songs are. Ten Summoner's Tales
Methinks the anonymous disruptor is trying to distract us from his/her cowardice. Protesters Demand UVa Contractors Living Wage at cvillenews.com
If the area concerned is not suitable, you should try to distract their attention elsewhere.
Either he's trying to force the debates commission to "postpone" the VP debate -- in which case it will never be rescheduled, sparing Palin another debacle -- or he's trying to throw Obama off his game with this distraction about whether or not he's going to show up. Election Central Morning Roundup
I must have watched the thirteen or so hour-long episodes right through five or six times, with an undiminished pleasure, and undistracted by any sense of discontinuity with the book.
Demands for equality were seen as a distraction from more serious issues.
I was trying to distract people from the craziness in which we live; and definitely not point the finger at it.
There was grain present, and some artifacts and pixelation, but it wasn't overly distracting.
The playtime is a distraction from what happened upstairs a few minutes earlier. KCCI.com - Local News
In all this, my hostess was a constant provider of chat, inconsequence and distraction, but gave me no opportunity to focus my attention on anything for very long nor to fully absorb my surroundings.
Clark : Look, I'll find some way to distract her and then you sneak out.
He had managed to distract the man's attention by pointing at something behind his back.
Little self-important copperplate fountain-penned comments such ‘Easily distracted’ start to creep into the elaboration box.
These task parameters may have contributed further to any inherent vulnerability to salient visual and auditory distractors.
Most of Saturday I was distracted and fretful, wracking my brains about what I could do when I would be forced to disappear from Rob's life for an entire month.
Instead, distract your child's attention from the buckles by fitting a play tray over the top.
Colter's buildings are memorialized here for just this sort of delicate balancing act: They complement one of the most beautiful spots on earth, even as they momentarily distract from it.
You'd need to create a diversion, by throwing a rock that lands behind them, making a noise and distracting them temporarily.
Unfortunately the puckering is really distracting and it's not Althea's best work. Una LaMarche: Project Runway Episode 12 Recap: Let's Getty It Over With
Keep the study zone bright and clean, keep study supplies like pens, paper, highlighters and a dictionary on hand, and keep it free of distractions like the television, the telephone and loud music.
Oh, buffalo!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands, while Little An stared in horror and absolutely beat his forehead with his fists, and the hapless victim struggled helplessly, distracted and outraged - for I have my dignity, dammit, and I bar being unbreeched and assailed by opium-sodden houris, however be-witching, without even a by-your-leave. Flashman And The Dragon
All forms of bloodsports are an unnecessary distraction from genuine wildlife conservation.
Lyrics distract me so I use “Café de Flore” by Doctor Rockit or themes by John Williams, especially the Theme from “Far and Away.” Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » Top 10 (or 11) Writers’ Anthems of All Time
While I agree that I'm guilty of a moment's distraction, I feel I must defend myself against the memo's accusals of ‘sheer obtuseness where anything musical is concerned’ and ‘shameless disregard for the band's intentions’.
A properly trimmed airplane will do its best to maintain a constant speed should the pilot become momentarily distracted.
Our beat-up Citroën is a welcome distraction for the traffic-stalled touristsin the lanes beside us; they have hours to go before reaching the sea, the color of whichmimicsthe hue of dusty blue coating our car evidence of organic farming here at the vinery, where our family car doubles as a tractor-delivery vehicle... door dents and all. French Word-A-Day:
The authorities are said to take the view that the Gulf war will distract attention from civilian casualties in Jaffna.
Do you think I am trying to distract you from meditation?
Recognising the tenderness inherent in the small caresses, Luke looked momentarily distracted.
It's easy to get distracted when you're studying.
But her annoyance over the pictures could not distract Catherine from her latest - and biggest - ambition.
To get in the right headspace, he started working on tracks at his uptown home, removing himself from downtown rock-scene distractions and choosing isolation over inebriation.
They visited the keeper of the jewels and Maria pretended to faint to cause a distraction.
Countryside robbers are learning the ways of the wild west by stampeding cattle to distract farmers before raiding their homes.
Yet, the bright shimmer of the production that had initially served to distract from the songs slowly, ineluctably, entranced me.
To enhance control and fun on curvy roads, move the shifter to manual mode and slap it up and down through six distract ratios like the best manu-matic.
He was so distracted he almost missed the announcement on the Tannoy. YELLOW BIRD
Expanded, visually, beyond anything resembling the comparatively claustrophobic 1947 film which starred a wonderfully scrofulous Richard Attenborough, and imbued with a feverish morality that would have gratified Mr. Greene himself, the film is almost distractingly beautiful to look at, something that accentuates the tension between the film's conflicting quantities, i.e., the glories of the physical world, and the corrupted humanity it hosts. 'Idiot Brother': Silly, Satirical and Smart
Having lots of other stuff in the background is distracting.
The identity of the film's voiceover narrator is never adequately established, and this proves distracting.
One could imagine that the light from the displays would be distracting to others in the audience.
It's easy to be distracted and let your attention wander.
And you need to have things to look forward to Rose, to distract you while you're waiting. RESCUING ROSE
It is not wholly convincing, despite some novel steps, and the overexcitable computer graphics are distracting. Times, Sunday Times
Call the animals or distract them in any way and for whatever reason in the course or during the rounding up in the Bull Ring.
Incredibly, with Bryant idling on the bench, the Lakers shook off their distractions and managed to thrash one of their supposed title rivals in their opening game.
Too often we are so distracted by the myriad restaurants and products available to us - and the gustatory experience they promise - that we don't notice the real Chef behind the banquet.
Eventually they will become so distracted, and their relationships will be so corroded by duplicity and miscommunication, that they will simply give up and die out.
I think there's a distracting absurdity about his music because it deflects you slightly from the fact that he's often very sharp-witted; there are some very pointed observations within his songs.
The key to keeping my opponent off his game is to control the game with what I call a distraction point. THE OFFICIAL ROCK PAPER SCISSORS STRATEGY GUIDE
But the scores on such tests are meaningless unless they are interpreted by sophisticated clinicians who are totally knowledgeable in pertinent research on child and adult development, cognitive psychology, and neuropsychology, and who are astute observers and interpreters of behaviors such as the person's approach to problem solving or the degree to which anxiety or distractibility might have compromised the person's test scores. Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D.: Intelligent Testing
BEIJING (Reuters) - Ethiopia's Olympic champion distance runner Kenenisa Bekele has left his actress wife at home to avoid any distractions as he seeks double gold in Beijing.
I think it was a smart move on his part to minimize the real humans interacting with his pandora world where the contrast could be a distraction. Movie Review: Avatar » Scene-Stealers
Auguste Piccard conceived the bathyscaphe in the 1930s but became distracted by the allure of high-altitude ballooning.
Don't referees constantly do spots where they're distracted by a tag wrestler trying to enter illegally? PWTorch.com
The overall composition of the picture is good but some of the detail is distracting.
The driver is so distracted by a milkshake that he almost plows right into the back of another car!
The rest of the time I kept on distracting myself by looking at the trees through the big window behind her.
When threatened, the octopus can squirt out ink as a decoy to distract its predator and allowing the octopus to escape.
This, then, is what Tom Friedman — in antiseptic language designed to leave elite consciences undisturbed — would like to portray as successful American policy: Using the Iraqi people as bait to attract jihadists from around the region and distract them from attacking the American homeland. Wonk Room » Friedman: America Successfully Used Iraqis As Bait
He's only trying to distract attention from all his problems at home.
And the speculators financing these towers are very adept at flannelling the press and public with distracting trivia. Times, Sunday Times
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger, we got distracted and we have overflown Minneapolis. CNN Transcript Nov 27, 2009
To distract American taxpayers from the suspicion that the stimulus is largely bogus, Obama encourages green space exploration, presumably with the intention of assisting the Venusians currently imperilling their planet. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible « Anglican Samizdat
It disturbed the agenda, and patients seemed to be distracted from the subject that made them seek health care in the first place.
I winced in pain, so distracted by his intensity that I was deaf to the clunking of boots on the concrete floor.
Countryside robbers are learning the ways of the wild west by stampeding cattle to distract farmers before raiding their homes.
Kirk house-sits for them but is distracted by his pretty new girlfriend.
I was momentarily distracted by the latest item of spam in my inbox.
Now if we can all have the same protection in reproduction, then we would eliminate these wedge issues meant to distract from real issues. Think Progress » Judge strikes down Arkansas law banning same-sex couples from adopting.
Then one of the techs is singing random snatches of songs all day, which sounds really endearing, but it's kind of distracting if you're not used to it.
Sometimes all you can do is distract yourself until it passes.
Too often we busy ourselves with petty distractions, in order to escape the confrontation with reality.
What is distracting about these two are the circumstances of their political demise.
But his assiduousness is strange, as if distracted from itself. Happy Easter.
I picked up a battered magazine from the glass coffee table, looking for distraction. RUNNING FROM THE LAW
James shook his head to clear it of distracting thoughts and concentrated on his job.
How can you dislike a town where everybody jaywalks and the libramientos are known locally as the "other cemetary" and people drive in chaotic but workable distraction and many folks are short and fat and ridiculed by the overcompensating snobbish Highlanders as redneck morons and eating and drinking and dancing are local sports. Driving From San Crist�bal de Las Casas to Lake Chapala
Perhaps she isn't the only celebrity distracting the public's attention from the pressing issues at hand.
Freed from distracting desires which could never be adequately fulfilled, I pass through life with confidence and purpose, the multiple identities of my past consolidated into a unified whole.
You'll drive me to distraction with your silly questions!
The rooms are not encumbered by ornaments; a single kakemono, or fine piece of lacquer or china, appears for a few days and then makes way for something else; so they have variety as well as simplicity, and each object is enjoyed in its turn without distraction. Unbeaten Tracks in Japan
The serifs, though distracting to a small minority, allow the reader to glance over words at an alarming pace.
The print is unrestored, and does show occasional grain (especially in those ubiquitous dissolve cuts) and damage, but nothing exceedingly distracting.
When Zen monks sit for hours on end in zazen formal "sitting meditation" they are left with no other distraction but the flashing images of their minds. Archive 2009-02-22
Attention is impaired, and a delirious person is difficult to engage in conversation and easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli.
Driver error is blamed for 95% of crashes, with 25% due specifically to driver distraction (such as yammering into a cell phone). Decaffeinated
It's not a coincidence," Gallagher points out, "that the term distracted once referred not just to a loss or dilution of attention but also to confusion, mental imbalance, and even madness. Ward Sutton: Paying Attention in the Information-Overload Age
Most classical stations don't want vocal music during the day because if it's on in the workplace, it's distracting.
The tight, slick production makes this easily playable at high volume without many gimmicky distractions.
For conservatives to make immigration their Big Issue distracts from the far more urgent matter of prosecuting the war against Islamofascism and has introduced both an unwontedly nasty tone and a strain of anti-capitalist demagogy into right-wing rhetoric. Latin America
Yes, pop culture pedagogy is, indeed, one way to funnily distract students from the mandatory, often punitive-seeming (to both students and teachers) experience of comp class.
Setting goals and deadlines, is normally a strong enough action to protect against distraction and procrastination. On Efficiency, Or How To Get Everything Done As A Multi-Tasking Writer - by Joanna Penn | The Creative Penn
In contrast, if group members think he is relatively uncreative, they may deem his ideas to be distracting and even annoying.
The use of fashions in thought is to distract the attention of men from their real dangers.
For want of something to distract her mind, she had been engaged, when Maidie returned with her abigail in tow, in collecting together those of Maidie's belongings that were scattered about the bedchamber they had shared at her insistence, for she could not reconcile it with her duty to allow her charge to sleep alone in the chamber of a public inn in the heart of the capital. Gatlinburg
In his prime he was very handsome, but dressed down as if he feared any sartorial display would distract from his teaching.
While singing with lovely tone, her ragged entries and distracting blocking added humour but lost novelty quickly.
Grace was too distracted by the thought of getting dirt in her brand-new white shoes.
People usually think that trying to remain undistracted is some kind of deliberate act.
My other sister and brother-in-law have worked hard to provide my kids with distraction and diversion.
This allows concentration on counseling without as strong a distraction from the paraphiliac urges.
It's been bracing to see -- during our nation'sstate of denial, distraction and dysfunctional Big Media -- just how dedicated to truthsome writers and editors, such asRandyNeal andDaneBaker remain. Fire! Polite Applause
It would certainly distract the attention of the powerful commercial groups that are about to join battle over cable television networks.
Gill seems rather distracted at the moment - I think she's worried about her exams.
The proposal was dismissed as a diversionary tactic intended to distract attention from the real problems.
The distractions from the running of the business and the adverse impact on profit performance.
_ -- In this kind of paraphasia in adults the cause is a lack of attention; therefore purely central concentration is wanting, or one fails to "collect himself"; there is distraction, hence the unintentional, frequently unconscious, confounding of words similar in sound or connected merely by remote, often dim, reminiscences. The Mind of the Child, Part II The Development of the Intellect, International Education Series Edited By William T. Harris, Volume IX.
For future reference Mick, it's chutzpah, like a particularly catarrhal pronunciation of the Premier League team Tottenham Chutzpah – whose pre-season friendly against Orlando Pirates, incidentally, on ESPN was yet another distraction from the cricket. Tendulkar or Talksport: July's ultimate Test | Martin Kelner
A default judgment would in no way "vindicate" Jones if the President's stated reason for refusing further to defend the suit was the (by now all-too-obvious) fact that defending would demean his office and unduly distract him from doing the people's work. Clinton & the Jones Case
We have basic good form, but we are easily distracted by birds or small children or other exercisers who look and perform better than we do.
The hoopla surrounding a wedding can be pretty distracting for a while, but eventually you will get home from the honeymoon and reality will be waiting for you.
I almost started to question his shoe color preference when I realized his eyes were glassy, his face was flushed, and he seemed distracted.
Several people talking at once distract a listener.
It is a sideshow, a massively expensive distraction from the main game.
Distractions such as rattles, music, or even running a vacuum, washing machine, or blow-dryer may be amusing or comforting to your baby.
The garish colors, the bawling kids, the irritating and distracting music and the inedible snacks make it no place for conversation or cogitation. Matthew Yglesias » McDonald’s Or Starbucks
And not that I have actually said goodbye yet either: it is more a case of the staff distracting my now quiet and quivery-lipped boy while I sneak out the door and slope off down the corridor.
None of us could have known what it would be like (yes, Bub, unknowable is exactly the right word) – distracted by shiny things or not – and most of us understood that from the beginning. Mothers Are The New Sheep | Her Bad Mother
Labour's Ovine & Bovine really should pay attentionto this in The Times - though I daresay they are somewhat distracted by the pungent whiff of the abattoir which must be assailing their collective nostrilsat the moment. A Painful Lesson From A Brussels Vet
In that moment of distraction, he could miss his last favorable opportunity to liquidate his position.
The videos apparently distract the viewer's attention from the song to the meaningless portrayal of carnal desires.
You know, most people are living especially on the coasts, between distraction and frenzy.
Many airlines of course have reciprocal agreements with others, broadening the chances of a comfortable sit-down or some undistracted work.
Nevertheless, distraction displays are, by any standards, remarkable patterns of animal behaviour, and require some explanation.
For example, the crew would run from place to place to tire out the minder, and then serve him buckets of tea to distract him so that a secondary film crew could be free to film unsupervised.
Experts blame the distractions of new technologies and drugs, doctor fatigue, and some doctors' sense of infallibility.
That being said, I think they can be a distraction if you overfocus on results. ChiRunning
Make no mistake, Feingold's motion to censure is not a foolish nuisance interrupting your busy lawmaking schedules, not an unnecessary distraction from the great work of appealing as unspecifically as possible to enough disgruntled Republicans that we can eke out a tarnished and compromised numerical victory in November. Frank Dwyer: Senators: Stand with Feingold
Men posing as water supply checkers called to a number of homes in the Tramore area and in one instance they managed to make their way into the home of one resident and while one distracted her the other stole the cash.
Campaigners opposing incineration frequently object that it distracts from recycling.
The suggestion is that such property development is a distraction from their core business and, therefore, a bad thing.
Noise outside distracted her mind from her studies.
A very clingy child can drive a parent to distraction.

How To Use Distract In A Sentence

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