Fluster

//ˈflʌstə// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 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. 2
    a disposition that is confused or nervous and upset wordnet
  3. 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. 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. 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. 2
    cause to be nervous or upset wordnet
  3. 3
    To make emotionally overwhelmed or visibly embarrassed, especially in a sexual or romantic context. transitive
  4. 4
    be flustered; behave in a confused manner wordnet
  5. 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
  1. 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; […]"

  2. 7
    To be agitated and confused; to bustle. intransitive

    "He seemed to fluster when speaking in front of many people."

  3. 8
    To become overwhelmed or visibly embarrassed, especially in a sexual or romantic context. intransitive
  4. 9
    To become overwhelmed or visibly embarrassed, especially in a sexual or romantic context.; To become turned on, to become horny. broadly, intransitive
  5. 10
    To catch attention; to be showy or splendid. British, dialectal, intransitive
  6. 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, […]"

  7. 12
    Of a seed: to produce a shoot quickly. intransitive, obsolete

Synonyms

All synonyms
perturbationabashaddleaddleaddle the witsado

Example

More examples

"The aged housekeeper was no less flustered and hurried in obeying the numerous and contradictory commands of her mistress, […]"

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.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.