Distrait
adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 absent-minded, troubled, distracted
"But to return to our friend Desmond:—he was too well bred to have asked such an unfair question, had he not been completely distrait. When the mind is absent without leave, the deputy it leaves behind to secure its unmolested retreat most resembles that apish faculty, memory, and mechanically imitates the manners, and repeats the phrases of others. (Published anonymously, though some citations refer to her pseudonym Madame Panache. Note: Frances Brooke is a different person)http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40160/40160-h/40160-h.htmhttps://books.google.com/books?id=egs4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq=madam+panache+francis+moore&source=bl&ots=bagphpXFAX&sig=Q4AFbNwC35ZlIpdBq_VCEPLJirM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ96PEkoLUAhVn04MKHZBSDW4Q6AEIRzAJ#v=onepage&q=madam%20panache%20francis%20moore&f=false"
- 1 having the attention diverted especially because of anxiety wordnet
Example
More examples"You may remember that I was distrait, and remained sitting after you had all alighted. I was marvelling in my own mind how I could possibly have overlooked so obvious a clue."
Etymology
Borrowed from French distrait.
Related phrases
More for "distrait"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.