frustrate

1 of 2

verb

frus·​trate ˈfrə-ˌstrāt 

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

frustrate

2 of 2

adjective

: characterized by frustration

Synonyms

Verb

• baffle
• balk
• beat
• checkmate
• discomfit
• foil
• thwart

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of frustrate in a Sentence

Verb

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 on the Web

Verb

Alex Caruso, the 6-foot-5 defensive savant who spent so much of the evening frustrating the 6-11 Nikola Jokić, was the real MVP of the night (Jokić had 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting, with nine rebounds, seven assists and five turnovers). —Sam Amick, New York Times, 19 May 2025

The naming practices can frustrate efforts to track the chemicals in food, to measure how much of the stuff people are taking in, and even to figure out precisely which chemicals a scientific study evaluated, researchers said. —David Hilzenrath, CNN Money, 19 May 2025

Adjective

Integration With Existing Systems Few things frustrate banking professionals more than clunky systems that don’t talk to one another. —Gegham Azatyan, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025

Simple things, like the volume on his teacher’s screen being too low, or having to use the web chat function on the live feed to ask questions during class, frustrate him daily. —Sofi Zeman, Kansas City Star, 6 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Adjective

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

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for frustrate

• abate
• airfreight
• await
• baseplate
• berate
• birthdate
• birthrate
• bookplate
• borate
• breastplate
• bromate
• casemate

Kids Definition

frustrate

verb

frus·​trate

ˈfrəs-ˌtrāt

frustrated; frustrating

1

: to prevent from carrying out a purpose

tried to frustrate his opponents in their efforts

2

: to bring to nothing

the accident frustrated the plan

Medical Definition

frustrate

transitive verb

frus·​trate ˈfrəs-ˌtrāt 

frustrated; frustrating

: to induce feelings of frustration in

Legal Definition

frustrate

transitive verb

frus·​trate ˈfrəs-ˌtrāt 

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)