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 Attempting to hit aggressive winners from the beginning, Ostapenko made 36 unforced errors as Gauff played a patient, mature game, allowing her flustered opponent to cave in on her own. —

David Waldstein, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2023 Yet, Les Bleues did not seem flustered by the rough treatment, hoping to capitalize on a set piece or two. —

Frank Dell'apa, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023 At the same time, the sequel would allow Keaton more room to be amusingly flustered, navigating a classic rom-com subplot in which Wayne and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina Kyle, a.k.a. —

Vulture, 25 Aug. 2023 His flustered response turned into defensive posturing as civil and criminal cases progressed. —

Vulture, 2 Aug. 2023 After Jill Roord scored, however, the Americans looked flustered, overwhelmed and lethargic. —

Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 27 July 2023 The United States has repeatedly warned that a flustered Russia may actually be willing to use nuclear weapons, and the Kremlin itself has regularly raised the specter of a nuclear strike. —

Kristin Ven Bruusgaard, Foreign Affairs, 6 Feb. 2023 Some parents find the noise and motion to be overwhelming: The highest settings seemed to make my baby more agitated, plus left me flustered and worried. —

Brigitt Earley, Glamour, 11 July 2023 Dad, who will speak before me, is standing at the computer, a little flustered. —

Jean Garnett, The New Yorker, 10 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flustered.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.