verb

distraer

distract

Hacer que una persona deje de poner atención en algo y pienda en otra cosa.

Definition & meaning

The verb distraer has two primary meanings in Spanish:

To distract: To take someone's attention away from what they are doing or thinking. It implies causing someone to lose focus or diverting their interest.
To amuse or entertain: To provide a pastime or amusement that helps someone pass the time or find enjoyment.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammar:

Distraer is a transitive verb.
It is a second-conjugation verb (-er) and it is highly irregular. Specifically, it is a compound of the verb {traer} , and it follows the same conjugation pattern (e.g., distraigo, distrajiste, distraería).
The reflexive form, {distraerse} , is commonly used to mean "to get distracted" or "to amuse oneself."

Word origin: The word comes from the Latin distrahere, which is formed by the prefix dis- (in different directions) and trahere (to pull or drag). Literally, it means "to pull apart" or "to pull in different directions," which figuratively evolved into the concept of scattering one's attention.