What does "fluster" mean?
A state of agitation or confusion; a flutter.
Fluster
/ˈflʌstə/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A state of agitation or confusion; a flutter.
- Grammar: fluster is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abashed, addle, addle the wits, ado.
- Useful contrasts: calm, calmness, composure.
- Usage evidence: The aged housekeeper was no less flustered and hurried in obeying the numerous and contradictory commands of her mistress, […]
How to use "fluster"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "fluster" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "fluster" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "fluster" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "fluster" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A state of agitation or confusion; a flutter.
"Good-morrovv, Madam; hovv do you do to-day? you ſeem to be in a little fluſter."
- 2 a disposition that is confused or nervous and upset wordnet
- 3 A state of slight drunkenness or tipsiness; also, the excitement caused by this state. obsolete
"It is certainly a very agreeable change, when we see a glass raise a lifeless conversation into all the pleasures of wit and good humour. But when Caska adds to his natural impudence the fluster of a bottle, that which fools call fire when he was sober, all men abhor as outrage when he is drunk."
- 4 Showiness, splendour. obsolete
"Yet to vvork he fell, not omitting firſt to Sum himſelf up in the vvhole vvardrobe of his Function; […] as to the end that being huff'd up in all his Eccleſiaſtical fluſter, he might appear more formidable, and in the pride of his Heart and Habit, out-boniface an Humble Moderator."
Verb
- 1 To throw (someone) into a state of confusion or panic; to befuddle, to confuse. transitive
"The aged housekeeper was no less flustered and hurried in obeying the numerous and contradictory commands of her mistress, […]"
- 2 cause to be nervous or upset wordnet
- 3 To make emotionally overwhelmed or visibly embarrassed, especially in a sexual or romantic context. transitive
- 4 be flustered; behave in a confused manner wordnet
- 5 To make emotionally overwhelmed or visibly embarrassed, especially in a sexual or romantic context.; To turn on, to make horny. broadly, transitive
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 To make (someone) feel flushed and hot through drinking alcoholic beverages; also, to make (someone) slightly drunk or tipsy. dated, transitive
"Three lads of Cypres, noble ſvvelling ſpirits, / That hold their honour, in a vvary diſtance, / The very Elements of this vvarlike Iſle, / Haue I tonight fluſtred vvith flovving cups, / And the vvatch too: novv mongſt this flocke of drunkards, / I am to put our Caſsio in ſome action, / That may offend the Iſle; […]"
- 7 To be agitated and confused; to bustle. intransitive
"He seemed to fluster when speaking in front of many people."
- 8 To become overwhelmed or visibly embarrassed, especially in a sexual or romantic context. intransitive
- 9 To become overwhelmed or visibly embarrassed, especially in a sexual or romantic context.; To become turned on, to become horny. broadly, intransitive
- 10 To catch attention; to be showy or splendid. British, dialectal, intransitive
- 11 To boast or brag noisily; to bluster, to swagger. intransitive, obsolete
"And the Apoſtle [Paul] ſeems here moſt peculiarly to have directed this Encomium of the Gospel, as a Defiance to the Philoſophers of his Time, the Fluſtring Vain-glorious Greeks, vvho pretended ſo much to magnify, and even Adore the VViſdom they profeſſed, […]"
- 12 Of a seed: to produce a shoot quickly. intransitive, obsolete
Example
"The aged housekeeper was no less flustered and hurried in obeying the numerous and contradictory commands of her mistress, […]"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "fluster"?
Common synonyms include: abashed, addle, addle the wits, ado, agitate, agitation.
How do you use "fluster" in a sentence?
The aged housekeeper was no less flustered and hurried in obeying the numerous and contradictory commands of her mistress, […]
How do you pronounce "fluster"?
Pronounced /ˈflʌstə/.
Etymology
The verb is probably from Middle English *flostren (implied in flostring, flostrynge (“agitation; blustering”)) from a Scandinavian (North Germanic) language; compare Icelandic flaustra (“to bustle”), flaustr (“a bustle; a hurry”). Compare Old English flustrian (“to weave, plait, braid”). The noun is derived from the verb.