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frustrate

American  
[fruhs-treyt] / ˈfrʌs treɪt /

verb (used with object)

frustrated, frustrating

  1. to make (plans, efforts, etc.) worthless or of no avail; defeat; nullify.

    The student's indifference frustrated the teacher's efforts to help him.
    Synonyms:
    circumvent, foil, balk

  2. to disappoint or thwart (a person).

    a talented woman whom life had frustrated.

verb (used without object)

frustrated, frustrating

  1. to become frustrated.

    His trouble is that he frustrates much too easily.

adjective

  1. Obsolete. frustrated.

frustrate British  
/ frʌˈstreɪt /

verb

  1. to hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; thwart

  2. to upset, agitate, or tire

    her constant complaints began to frustrate him
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. archaic frustrated or thwarted; baffled

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See thwart.

Other Word Forms

  • frustrater noun
  • frustratingly adverb
  • frustrative adjective
  • refrustrate verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of frustrate

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin frustrātus, past participle of frustrārī, verbal derivative of frustrā “in vain”

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.