drive to distraction

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

drive to distraction

/ˌdɹaɪv tə dɪsˈtɹækʃ(ə)n/ UK
/ˌdɹaɪv tə dɪsˈtɹækʃən/ US
/də-/ US

Where it comes from

From drive (“to cause to become”) + to + distraction (“deranged state of mind; insanity”).

verb drives to distraction · driving to distraction · drove to distraction · driven to distraction

excessive, transitive To annoy (someone) so much that they cannot concentrate. "[…]pray do this for us—pray do not drive to distraction a man who has loved you so well."
Similar: drive crazy, drive round the bend, drive up the wall

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"drive to distraction." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/drive%20to%20distraction. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

drive to distraction. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/drive%20to%20distraction

Chicago

"drive to distraction." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/drive%20to%20distraction.

BibTeX

@misc{drive_to_distraction_2026,
  title = {drive to distraction},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/drive%20to%20distraction},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}