Destruction Vs Distraction

Destruction

The noun destruction means to ruin or demolish something. It can be a car, a person’s career, a house etc. Destruction is used to indicate some mishap that has occurred on a large scale. The verb for destruction is destroy which is the act of destruction. The word comes from its Latin roots de- and struere (build), which means the opposite of building something i.e. eradicating or destroying. Examples:

·         The teacher destroyed his career by failing him in exams.

·         The tornado caused severe destruction of land and trees.

·         The hunter destroyed the sparrow as it was an obstacle for his main target. (killed in the context)

·         Lot of evidence has already been destroyed in this murder case.

·         Cigarette and alcohol both cause destruction to body and mind.

·         The destruction of this famous statue is definitely the work of some miscreants.

Distraction

The noun distraction means to direct one’s attention to something else. The verb is ‘to distract’. The origin of distract comes from Latin word dis and trahere meaning to draw or drag. Some synonyms of distract are divert, disturb, side-track or deflect.

Some examples:

·         Never distract yourself from your goals.

·         The background music was indeed a distraction during the play.

·         Her grief was a distraction from work.

·         This TV shows is very distracting, so I don’t watch it while cooking.

·         Kids are easily distracted by any noise.

·         They distracted her from the purpose just by bribing her.

As we see, these words are not related in anyway, but can be confused easily because of the similar spellings. One last example:

Any distraction from your studies right now will destroy your career.