The verbs detract and distract sometimes encroach upon each other’s territory, but there are proper uses for each.
Detract
Detract is mainly used intransitively (i.e., not requiring a direct object) to mean to diminish, take away from, or reduce the value of, and it’s usually followed immediately by from. Its transitive uses are usually best served by distract. These are examples of correct intransitive detract usage:
Gonzalez said Chavez was merely trying to use sexual orientation to detract from her own shortcomings. [Kris TV]
I don’t want to detract from the enormity of this loss to Poland’s citizens, many of whom are still grieving. [True/Slant]
Distract
Distract, which is always used transitively (meaning that it must have a direct object), means to divert attention or interest. It is almost always followed immediately by the person or thing being distracted—for example:
Operating a cell phone can distract the driver and cause an accident, but we shouldn’t penalize drivers who are otherwise driving safely. [News 9]
Newspapers are easy to handle, easy to read, and they don’t festoon stories with links that are designed to distract an already distracted brain. [Washington Post]
Keep in mind that attention is not a person or thing capable of being distracted. This construction makes no sense:
Certain activities can distract a driver’s attention and lead to crashes, the Winchester Police Department warns in a press release. [NV Daily]
This sentence states that it is the driver’s attention, not the driver, that is distracted. This would make more sense:
Certain activities can distract a driver and lead to crashes . . .
Because attention is included in the meaning of distract, it doesn’t need to be included in the sentence.
