distraught
398
distraction. | She loves him to distraction. 3 [U] distracting or being distracted: Let's invite her to the disco — she needs distraction.
dis·traught /dɪ'str:t/ adj [(with)] very anxious and troubled almost to the point of madness: distraught with grief/worry
dis·tress¹ /dɪ'stres/ n [U] 1 great suffering of the mind or body; pain or great discomfort: The sick man showed signs of distress. | Your thoughtless behaviour has caused us all a great deal of distress. 2 suffering caused by lack of money: a company in financial distress 3 a state of danger or great difficulty: Send out a distress signal. The ship is sinking. | a damsel in distress
distress² v [T often pass.] 1 to cause someone to feel very upset: The dream had distressed her greatly. 2 to make someone feel very upset: The dream had distressed her greatly.
dis·tressed /dɪ'strest/ adj BrE euph 1 poor; IMPOVERISHED: distressed gentlefolk/circumstances/area 2 (of furniture) treated to look old and well used in an attractive way 3 very upset: Hanna was distressed by the news.
dis·tress·ing /dɪ'stresɪŋ/ also dis·tress·ful /dɪ'stresfəl/ adj causing distress: distressing news —ly adv
dis·trib·ute /dɪ'strɪbju:t/ v [T] 1 [(to, among)] to divide and give out among several people, places etc: to distribute the prizes to/among the winners | distributing leaflets to the crowd 2 [(over)] to spread out through an area: This new machine distributes seed evenly and quickly (over the whole field). | This species of plant is widely distributed. (=is found in many different areas) 3 to supply (goods) in a particular area, especially to shops
dis·tri·bu·tion /ˌdɪstrɪ'bju:ʃən/ n 1 [C;U] the act of dividing and giving out among several people, places etc: the distribution of prizes | The newspaper is having distribution problems in the north of the country. 2 [S;U] the position or arrangement of (members of a group) in space or time: The distribution of these animals has changed in the last century. 3 [S;U] the sharing out of profits by a company among its SHAREHOLDERS —al adj
dis·trib·u·tive /dɪ'strɪbjətɪv/ adj [A no comp.] 1 distributing; connected with distribution: the distributive trades of transport and marketing 2 tech (of a word) concerning each single member of a group: Distributive words in English include 'each', 'every', 'either', and 'neither'. —ly adv
dis·trib·u·tor /dɪ'strbjətər/ n 1 a person or organization that distributes goods: The company is the local distributor for Volkswagen spare parts. 2 an instrument which sends electric current in the right order to each SPARK PLUG in a car engine → see picture at ENGINE
dis·trib·u·tor·ship /'dɪstrɪbjətəʃɪp||-ər-/ n a company that has an arrangement to sell the products of another company: the UK distributorship for Sol lighting products
dis·trict /'dɪstrɪkt/ n 1 a fixed division of a country, a city etc, made for various official purposes: a postal district 2 an area with a special and particular quality, or of a particular kind: the Lake District in northern England | a poor district in a city → see AREA (USAGE)
,district at'torney n (often caps.) AmE in the US, the state official who is responsible for bringing legal charges against criminals in a particular area → compare CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE
,district 'council n in Britain, a government authority elected by the people living in an area, which deals with local services, such as housing RUBBISH COLLECTION and PLANNING PERMISSION: On May 2nd you will have the chance to elect a new District Council to serve you for the next four years.
,district 'court n in the US, the court where law cases are first heard
,district 'nurse n in Britain, a nurse, employed by a local health authority, who visits and treats people in their own homes → compare HEALTH VISITOR
,District of Co'lumbia, the abbrev. D.C. also the District the special area of the eastern US, next to Maryland and Virginia, which includes Washington, the capital of the US
dis·trust¹ /dɪs'trʌst/ v [T] to lack trust or confidence in; have little faith in: He distrusts banks, so he keeps his money at home.
distrust² n [S;U(of)] lack of trust: deep distrust between the former enemies | I have a distrust of aeroplanes. —ful adj —fully adv —fulness n [U]
dis·turb /dɪ'st:b||-ɜ:r/ v [T] 1 to interrupt (especially a person who is working) or break the sleep of: I'm sorry to disturb you, but could you tell me how this machine works? | Did the cats disturb you in the night? 2 to make (someone) anxiously dissatisfied; worry: We were rather disturbed by the way the government tried to cover up the truth. | a disturbing new development in the dispute between the two countries 3 to change the usual or natural condition of: A light wind disturbed the surface of the water. 4 disturb the peace law to cause public disorder
dis·turb·ance /dɪ'stɜ:bəns||-ɜ:r-/ n [C;U] 1 an act of disturbing or the state of being disturbed: They were charged by the police with causing a disturbance. (=making a lot of noise and possibly fighting) 2 something that disturbs: The noise of traffic is a continual disturbance.
dis·turbed /dɪ'stɜ:bd||-ɜ:r-/ adj ill or seriously upset in the mind or the feelings: emotionally disturbed children
dis·u·nite /ˌdɪsju:'naɪt/ v [T] to cause disunity in
dis·u·ni·ty /dɪs'ju:nɪti/ n [U] lack of UNITY especially with disagreement and quarrelling; DISSENSION
dis·use /dɪs'ju:s/ n [U] the state of no longer being used: an old law that has fallen into disuse
dis·used /ˌdɪs'ju:zd◌/ adj no longer used: a disused mine/railway line
di·syl·lab·ic /ˌdaɪsɪ'læbɪk, ˌdɪ-/ adj tech (of a word) having two SYLLABLES
ditch¹ /dɪtʃ/ n a long deep narrow passage cut into the ground, especially for water to flow through: a drainage ditch by the side of the road → see also LAST-DITCH
ditch² v [T] slang to get rid of; leave suddenly; ABANDON: She got bored with her boyfriend and ditched him. | He promised to drive us to London but he ditched us 50 miles away. | I think we'd better ditch the last part. It's too long.
dith·er¹ /'dɪðər/ v [(about)] infml to behave nervously and uncertainly because one cannot decide: For God's sake stop dithering and make up your mind!
dither² n [S] infml a state of nervous inability to make decisions: I'm all in a dither about the concert.
Dit·ka, Mike /'dɪtkə/ (1939–) a famous US football player in the 1960s and 1970s, who later became the COACH of the Chicago Bears team. He trained them to be one of the most successful teams in the 1980s and 1990s, and he is known for being forceful, rude, and determined to win.
di·tran·si·tive /ˌdaɪ'trænsɪtɪv, -zɪ-/ adj tech (of a verb) that must take both an INDIRECT OBJECT and a DIRECT OBJECT. Ditransitive verbs are marked [T+obj(I)+obj(d)] in this dictionary: The verb 'give' is ditransitive in the sentence 'She gave me the book'. → compare INTRANSITIVE, TRANSITIVE —ditransitive n
dit·to /'dɪtəʊ/ n pl. -tos 1 a mark (") used to show that a word, which is usually directly above the mark, e.g. in a list, is repeated; a sign meaning 'the same':
one black pencil at 12p
" blue " at 15p
2 infml (I think) the same: 'I'm really annoyed about this.' 'Ditto.' (=I am, too) 3 AmE a PHOTOCOPY
dit·ty /'dɪti/ n often humor a short simple song
ditz /dɪts/ n AmE infml a stupid, silly, or irresponsible person: You ditz! I can't believe you locked your keys in the car. —ditzy adj: She's nice but she's kinda ditzy.
di·uret·ic /ˌdaɪju'retɪk/ n, adj (a medicine or food) that increases the flow of URINE
di·ur·nal /daɪ'ɜ:nəl||'ɜ:r-/ adj fml or tech (especially in the study of the sun, stars etc) taking one day; daily: the diurnal rotation of the Earth —ly adv
Div n written abbrev. for DIVISION
di·va /'di:və/ n [C] a very successful and famous female singer: opera diva Jessye Norman
di·van /dɪ'væn||'daɪvæn/ n 1 a long soft seat or bed (divan