To reduce the importance, value, or quality of something
Examples:
His constant gossip detracts from his professionalism.The loud music detracted from the dining experience.Critics argue that the subplot detracts from the main story.
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Antonyms:
Distract
/dɪˈstrækt/
To take someone's attention away from something
Examples:
I got distracted.She's quite adept at distracting us from it.She asks flashing me some sweet, innocent glare to distract me.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
To detract is often related to taking something away, such as a value or quality, while distract involves diverting attention.
Think of detract as a term used in criticism, like removing merit from someone’s argument.
Distract typically involves attention, like when noise causes you to lose focus on your work.