distract and district differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. distract means “draw someone's attention away from something”. district means “a region marked off for administrative or other purposes”.
/dɪˈstɹækt/
1.v.draw someone's attention away from something
“The thief distracted the bystanders”
2.v.disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed
“She was rather perturbed by the news that her father was seriously ill”
/ˈdɪstɹɪkt/
1.n.a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
2.v.regulate housing in; of certain areas of towns
| distract | district | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /dɪˈstɹækt/ | /ˈdɪstɹɪkt/ |
| Said | di-STRAKT | DI-strikt |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 8 | 8 |
| Parts of speech | verb | noun, verb |
| Senses | 2 | 2 |
| How common | Common | Common |
| Synonyms | deflect | territory, territorial dominion, dominion |
Full entry for distract · Full entry for district · More comparisons