different between irk vs distract

English

Etymology

From Middle English irken (“to tire, grow weary”), from Old Norse yrkja (“to work”), from Proto-Germanic *wurkijan? (“to work”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer?- (“to work”). Cognate with Icelandic yrkja (“to compose”), Swedish yrka (“to urge, argue”), Old English wyrcan, wyr?ean (“to work”). More at work.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??k/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k/
• Rhymes: -??(r)k

Verb

irk (third-person singular simple present irks, present participle irking, simple past and past participle irked)

1. (transitive) to irritate; annoy; bother

   It irks me doing all this work and have someone wreck it.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:annoy

Derived terms

• irksome
• irky

Translations

Anagrams

• IKR, Kri, ikr, kir, rik

Manx

Noun

irk

1. plural of ark

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin distractus, from distrah? (“to pull apart”), from dis- + trah? (“to pull”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?s?t?ækt/
• Rhymes: -ækt

Verb

distract (third-person singular simple present distracts, present participle distracting, simple past and past participle distracted)

1. (transitive) To divert the attention of.
2. (transitive) To make crazy or insane; to drive to distraction.

Related terms

• distracted
• distractible
• distracting
• distraction

Translations

Adjective

distract (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Separated; drawn asunder.
2. (obsolete) Insane; mad.
   • 1612, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion song 6 p. 3[1]:

     (Alone shee beeing left the spoyle of love and death,

     In labour of her griefe outrageously distract,

     The utmost of her spleene on her false lord to act)

See also

• distraught

Anagrams

• adstrict