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

Meanwhile, Lee adopts a flustered countenance to fill in the chasms of characterization the script didn’t think through. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026

Sagal didn’t hold back with her reply, getting Danson a little flustered. — Shelby Stivale, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Aug. 2026

Perreault-Magny said frightened and flustered migrants sometimes try to climb into his unmarked patrol pickup, mistaking it for a smuggler coming to collect them. — Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 29 July 2026

Basabe, a former reality TV personality and socialite who was first elected to the Florida House in 2022, appeared flustered. — Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 15 July 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