frustrate

verb frus·trate \ ˈfrə-ˌstrāt \

Definition of frustrate

frustrated; frustrating

transitive verb

1 a : to balk or defeat in an endeavor

frustrated her opponents by her ball-handling

b : to induce feelings of discouragement in

Not being able to find a job frustrated him.

2 a (1) : to make ineffectual : bring to nothing

Illness frustrated his plans for college.

(2) : impede, obstruct

The project was frustrated by government regulations.

b : to make invalid or of no effect

See frustrate defined for English-language learners

See frustrate defined for kids

Examples of frustrate in a Sentence

It frustrated him to miss so many games because of injuries.
We've been frustrated by bureaucratic delays.
Bureaucratic delays have frustrated our efforts to resolve this problem.
The lack of investors has frustrated them in their efforts to expand the company.

Recent Examples of frustrate from the Web

Customers were originally frustrated by Logitech's decision to end the life of Link devices apparently solely for business purposes.

— valentina palladino, Ars Technica, "After online outrage, Logitech will now replace Harmony Link devices for free," 9 Nov. 2017
The senseless, reckless nature of the crime frustrated the victim's family.

— bruce vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee teen sentenced for wildly firing into group, killing young mother," 3 Nov. 2017
Along the Blue Line light rail extension to University City, businesses and local residents have also been frustrated by long-running construction.

— ely portillo, charlotteobserver, "Popular store closes because of streetcar construction, owner says," 23 Oct. 2017
Barnier is frustrated by the U.K.’s refusal to turn the words of the Florence speech into clear negotiating positions, according to an EU official.

— helene fouquet, Bloomberg.com, "EU to Prepare for U.K. Trade Deal Even as Brexit Talks Stall," 18 Oct. 2017
Shortly after finishing a linguistics Ph.D. at Berkeley in 1980, Ken Whistler was frustrated by the inability of mainframe computers to print the specialized phonetic symbols that linguists use.

— michael erard, New York Times, "How the Appetite for Emojis Complicates the Effort to Standardize the World’s Alphabets," 18 Oct. 2017
American officials, meanwhile, were frustrated by the yearlong detention of Andrew Brunson, an American Christian pastor whom Turkish officials have accused of links to the coup.

— yaroslav trofimov, WSJ, "Turkey and the West Clash, Pleasing Russia and Iran," 12 Oct. 2017
Some lawmakers are openly frustrated by the court’s decision.

— jonathan shorman, kansascity, "How much money for Kansas schools? Lawmakers have no quick answers," 5 Oct. 2017
Shapiro was frustrated by a Berkeley decision earlier this month to shrink the number of seats in the audience for his address.

— javier panzar, latimes.com, "Unprecedented measures at Berkeley for conservative writer's speech, from pepper spray to emotional counseling for students," 14 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'frustrate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of frustrate

Middle English, from Latin frustratus, past participle of frustrare to deceive, frustrate, from frustra in error, in vain

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

frustrate Synonyms

Phrases

throw cold water on;

Synonym Discussion of frustrate

frustrate, thwart, foil, baffle, balk mean to check or defeat another's plan or block achievement of a goal. frustrate implies making vain or ineffectual all efforts however vigorous or persistent.

- frustrated attempts at government reform

thwart suggests frustration or checking by crossing or opposing.

- the army thwarted his attempt at a coup

foil implies checking or defeating so as to discourage further effort.

- foiled by her parents, he stopped trying to see her

baffle implies frustration by confusing or puzzling.

- baffled by the maze of rules and regulations

balk suggests the interposing of obstacles or hindrances.

- officials felt that legal restrictions had balked their efforts to control crime

frustrate

adjective

Definition of frustrate

: characterized by frustration

Origin and Etymology of frustrate

see ¹frustrate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

FRUSTRATE Defined for English Language Learners

frustrate

verb

Definition of frustrate for English Language Learners

: to cause (someone) to feel angry, discouraged, or upset because of not being able to do something
: to prevent (efforts, plans, etc.) from succeeding : to keep (someone) from doing something

FRUSTRATE Defined for Kids

frustrate

verb frus·trate \ ˈfrə-ˌstrāt \

Definition of frustrate for Students

frustrated; frustrating

1 : to cause to feel angry or discouraged

The delays frustrated passengers.

2 : to prevent from succeeding

Police frustrated the robbery.

3 : ¹defeat 2

The bad weather frustrated their plans for the beach.

Medical Dictionary

frustrate

transitive verb frus·trate \ ˈfrəs-ˌtrāt \

medical Definition of frustrate

frustrated; frustrating

: to induce feelings of frustration in

Law Dictionary

frustrate

transitive verb frus·trate \ ˈfrəs-ˌtrāt \

legal Definition of frustrate

frustrated; frustrating

: to make invalid or ineffectual : defeat

the remedial purposes of the Workers' Compensation Act should not be frustrated by rigid technical standards
—Palmer v. Bath Iron Works Corp., 559 A.2d 340 (1989)