Synonyms for distraction
dɪˈstræk ʃəndis·trac·tion

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. distraction

   Perplexity (Latin per, through, and plecto, plait) is the drawing or turning of the thoughts or faculties by turns in different directions or toward contrasted or contradictory conclusions; confusion (Latin confusus, from confundo, pour together) is a state in which the mental faculties are, as it were, thrown into chaos, so that the clear and distinct action of the different powers, as of perception, memory, reason, and will is lost; bewilderment is akin to confusion, but is less overwhelming, and more readily recovered from; perplexity, accordingly, has not the unsettling of the faculties implied in confusion, nor the overwhelming of the faculties implied in amazement or astonishment; it is not the magnitude of the things to be known, but the want of full and definite knowledge, that causes perplexity. The dividing of a woodland path may cause the traveler the greatest perplexity, which may become bewilderment when he has tried one path after another and lost his bearings completely. With an excitable person bewilderment may deepen into confusion that will make him unable to think clearly or even to see or hear distinctly. Amazement results from the sudden and unimagined occurrence of great good or evil or the sudden awakening of the mind to unthought-of truth. Astonishment often produces bewilderment, which the word was formerly understood to imply. Compare AMAZEMENT; ANXIETY; DOUBT.

   Synonyms:
   amazement, astonishment, bewilderment, confusion, disturbance, doubt, doubt, embarrassment, perplexity

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. distraction

   Synonyms:
   inattention, madness, absence

   Antonyms:
   attention, composure

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. distractionnoun

   mental turmoil

   "he drives me to distraction"

   Synonyms:
   beguilement, misdirection

2. distractionnoun

   an obstacle to attention

   Synonyms:
   beguilement, misdirection

3. beguilement, distractionnoun

   an entertainment that provokes pleased interest and distracts you from worries and vexations

   Synonyms:
   beguilement, bewitchery, misdirection, animal magnetism

4. distraction, misdirectionnoun

   the act of distracting; drawing someone's attention away from something

   "conjurers are experts at misdirection"

   Synonyms:
   beguilement, misdirection, mismanagement

Matched Categories

1. • Confusion
   • Entertainment
   • Inattention

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. distractionnoun

   Synonyms:
   confusion, perplexity, embarrassment, bewilderment, abstraction, mystification

2. distractionnoun

   Synonyms:
   disturbance, discord, tumult, disorder, division, perturbation, commotion, turmoil, agitation

3. distractionnoun

   Synonyms:
   derangement, madness, raving, insanity, alienation, aberration, incoherence, wandering, delirium, mania, lunacy, raving, hallucination, loss of the senses, disordered intellect or faculties, loss of reason

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. distractionnoun

   Synonyms:
   diversion, amusement, confusion, mystification, bewilderment, tumult, commotion, hurly-burly, despair, frenzy

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:4.0 / 1 vote

1. List of paraphrases for "distraction":

   diversion, entertainment, forgetfulness, amusement

Suggested Resources

1. Distraction

   Destruction vs Distraction -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Destruction and Distraction.

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How to use distraction in a sentence?

1. Alexis Tchaconas:

   Although laws that ban texting while driving appear to be somewhat effective in reducing this dangerous behavior by teen drivers, much more needs to be done to effectively eliminate this major distraction, frankly there are simple solutions technologically.

2. Carla Staver:

   I understand the appeal of this, it is a much less difficult solution to climate change if it were to indeed work... Where it becomes insidious and problematic is that we have good evidence that it won't work, and that it's a distraction from the things that will work, (such as) making difficult decisions to cut emissions.

3. Andrew Ziem:

   'The Cloth or Something' project has been fun, but it has also been a distraction from the software development needed to get out the next release of the BleachBit software application.

4. Tom Byer:

   In the U.S., sports are looked at as part of education, whereas in China it's been split as a distraction from education; the belief in the U.S. is 'strong body, strong mind'.

5. Hillary Clinton:

   I have a responsibility to you and other voters, i think it is imperative that we look at the Keystone pipeline as what I believe is the distraction from the important work we have to do to combat climate change.