Frustrate

//ˈfɹʌsˌtɹeɪt// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To disappoint or defeat; to vex by depriving of something expected or desired. transitive

    "It frustrates me to do all this work and then lose it all."

  2. 2
    treat cruelly wordnet
  3. 3
    To hinder or thwart. transitive

    "My clumsy fingers frustrate my typing efforts."

  4. 4
    hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of wordnet
  5. 5
    To cause stress or annoyance. transitive

    "This test frustrates me because if I fail, it'll destroy my grade."

Adjective
  1. 1
    ineffectual; useless; fruitless.

    "Our frustrate search."

Synonyms

All synonyms
bedevilthwartthwartaggravateannoyannul

Example

More examples

"Tom secretly attempted to frustrate Mary's plans."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English frustraten (“to prevent, disappoint, render useless”), from Latin frūstrātus, perfect passive participle of frūstrō (“I deceive”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare French frustrer.

Etymology 2

From Middle English frustrat (“prevented, disappointed, rendered useless”, adjective as well as past participle of frustraten (see Etymology 1)), from Latin frūstrātus, perfect passive participle of frūstrō (“to deceive”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

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