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Fluster
Definitions
- 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."
- 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
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- 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
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.
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.
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