divert/distract attention
idiom
: to try to keep people from noticing or thinking about something
He was trying to divert/distract attention away from his friend's mistake.
Examples of divert/distract attention in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And the equity market, despite its volatility, continued to divert attention away from gold.
—
Royston Wild, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
First, governments have waged war to divert attention from the various economic and political challenges facing them, such as when Eritrea attacked Ethiopia in 1998.
—Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022
The general public has been convinced that cultural diversity is the only way to achieve DEI, only to further divide people and divert attention from the real source of DEI: economics.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
The covers helped identify the band, but in a way that was a little bit different — trying to divert attention away from ourselves.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for divert/distract attention 
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.
Royston Wild, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
First, governments have waged war to divert attention from the various economic and political challenges facing them, such as when Eritrea attacked Ethiopia in 1998.
—Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022
The general public has been convinced that cultural diversity is the only way to achieve DEI, only to further divide people and divert attention from the real source of DEI: economics.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
The covers helped identify the band, but in a way that was a little bit different — trying to divert attention away from ourselves.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for divert/distract attention
Dictionary Entries Near divert/distract attention
Cite this Entry
“Divert/distract attention.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divert%2Fdistract%20attention. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share