flustered

adjective

flus·​tered ˈflə-stərd 

: in a state of agitated confusion

She became so flustered that she'd … kept repeating, "Gosh, I can't even think …" Later she confided, "I was almost in tears right after doing those numbers."

—Stephen S. Hall

The flustered lady gave me a blank stare and said, "That's not Mr. Franklin. The guard said Mr. Franklin was on his way up."

—Dick Francis

… the oxen … seemed more patient and less flustered than their masters …

—Deborah Straw

flusteredly adverb

"Everything's under control, I think!" she says a little flusteredly. "We had a problem with the table posies, but fingers crossed, they should be on their way … ."

—Sophie Kinsella

Examples of flustered in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Emily was flustered and scared. —Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026

Funniest moment of the season The sight of a flustered Amorim in the Grimsby rain resorting to a mini-tactics board to figure out how to best deal with the League Two side generated a lot of laughter, but not from United fans. —Carl Anka, New York Times, 26 May 2026

Colbert was flustered and adorable, and game enough to have the rapper back in 2023. —Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 20 May 2026

But her teacher, typically gregarious, seemed flustered. —Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 9 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

see fluster entry 1

First Known Use

1743, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for flustered

• blustered
• bustard
• clustered
• custard
• mustard
• mustered