Dis*tract" (?), a. [L.
distractus, p. p. of distrahere to draw asunder;
dis- + trahere to draw. See Trace, and cf.
Distraught.] 1. Separated; drawn
asunder. [Obs.]
2. Insane; mad. [Obs.]
Drayton.
Dis*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.