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

The professor seemed flustered, then dismissive. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025

There is a father in Breaking Away, a flustered, ineffectual father who sells used cars for a living. —Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025

Opposing teams will try to get into his head to gain an advantage from the flustered safety. —Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025

Miss Keaton…is not a whit like the flustered ingénue she was cast to play. —Chris Morris, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025

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