as in confounding
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
1
as in diverting
to draw the attention or mind to something else
we were distracted from our discussion by the noise outside
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bothering
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
distracted by the looming tax deadline
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of distracting
William Arruda,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Lara Johnson-Wheeler,
Vogue,
3 July 2026
There was some online angst over whether Swift was distracting from football — while the NFL itself capitalized on her fandom.
—
ABC News,
3 July 2026
Students also reported various reasons for avoiding music, including distracting lyrics.
—
Bridget K. Daleiden,
The Conversation,
29 June 2026
They are prohibited from unfairly distracting the taker by excessively delaying the penalty or touching the posts, crossbar or net.
—
Amelie Claydon,
New York Times,
28 June 2026
Smart leaders audit what’s truly profitable, cut distracting growth channels and rebuild around operational clarity, not just revenue velocity.
—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2026
Having medication or distracting techniques at the ready should assure a safe and happy holiday for the whole household.
—
Tanya Edwards,
USA Today,
26 June 2026
Gravitate Toward the Action Another temptation is to grab a drink and hide in a corner by yourself, perhaps even distracting yourself with your phone.
—
Wendy Rose Gould,
Martha Stewart,
24 June 2026
However, there was a distracting graphical issue where characters and objects would get weird glowy or black artifacts around the edges in close-up shots during battles and cutscenes.
—
Jay Peters,
The Verge,
23 June 2026
Adjective
Choose a clean, non-distracting background that doesn’t compete with your mug for attention.
—
William Arruda,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Verb
Driving into the estate down a dirt track, you’re met with concrete walls that frame the space with gallery-like precision, directing your eyes toward geological features rather than distracting from them.
—
Lara Johnson-Wheeler,
Vogue,
3 July 2026
There was some online angst over whether Swift was distracting from football — while the NFL itself capitalized on her fandom.
—
ABC News,
3 July 2026
Students also reported various reasons for avoiding music, including distracting lyrics.
—
Bridget K. Daleiden,
The Conversation,
29 June 2026
They are prohibited from unfairly distracting the taker by excessively delaying the penalty or touching the posts, crossbar or net.
—
Amelie Claydon,
New York Times,
28 June 2026
Smart leaders audit what’s truly profitable, cut distracting growth channels and rebuild around operational clarity, not just revenue velocity.
—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2026
Having medication or distracting techniques at the ready should assure a safe and happy holiday for the whole household.
—
Tanya Edwards,
USA Today,
26 June 2026
Gravitate Toward the Action Another temptation is to grab a drink and hide in a corner by yourself, perhaps even distracting yourself with your phone.
—
Wendy Rose Gould,
Martha Stewart,
24 June 2026
However, there was a distracting graphical issue where characters and objects would get weird glowy or black artifacts around the edges in close-up shots during battles and cutscenes.
—
Jay Peters,
The Verge,
23 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distracting
Adjective
-
Grief is one of the most confounding aspects of the human experience.
-
In 2021, one year into D’Amaro’s tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines.
Verb
-
Closing the Manhattan Bridge, diverting traffic, and managing the safety of staging a zombie apocalypse downtown required the cooperation and manpower of multiple agencies with their own sets of pressing priorities and responsibilities.
-
Fable mitigates this by diverting sensitive requests to less powerful models.
Verb
-
Travis was snapped having a blast bothering Jason as the duo attended a match between Jupiter Links GC and The Bay Golf Club at SoFi Center on March 3.
-
For now, the Royals hope to figure out exactly what’s bothering him.
Adjective
-
For some perplexing reason, Gia has decided to die on the hill that Ava is lying, despite having no way to prove that and despite the fact that Ava has no reason to lie.
-
Some viewers at home, however, found the clue perplexing, noting that the clue could also be read as referring to the two most recent Best Song winners.
Verb
-
An expansion into New Mexico would add oil revenue from the Permian Basin to Texas, adding to its economy and detracting, in turn, from New Mexico's.
-
Some asserted that the commitment and costs of traveling and attending meetings paired with the limited compensation was detracting members of the public from running for office.
Verb
-
The appeal is largely practical, since powders travel well in a bag, don’t leave hands greasy and can be dusted on without disturbing whatever’s already on your skin.
-
The cream bronzer blends effortlessly underneath without disturbing the layers.
Adjective
-
Yet, those teams don't make Tyler Dragon's list of the four teams that had the most puzzling offseasons.
-
Researchers hope the effort may yield clues about dark matter as well as an equally puzzling force known as dark energy.
Verb
-
So, even just the unusual presence of an aircraft in this area made this incident alarming for one resident, Anna, who spoke to CNN near the scene.
-
At the same time, the state’s spending keeps growing quickly as well, alarming the Legislative Analyst’s Office, which advises the Legislature on fiscal matters.
Cite this Entry
“Distracting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distracting. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
