frustrated

adjective

frus·​trat·​ed ˈfrə-ˌstrā-təd 

: feeling, showing, or characterized by frustration: such as

a

: feeling discouragement, anger, and annoyance because of unresolved problems or unfulfilled goals, desires, or needs

In fact Harry thought his behavior had been very good considering how frustrated and angry he felt at being stuck in Privet Drive this long …

—J. K. Rowling

b

: having an ambition that has not been realized

a frustrated actor [=a person who wants to be an actor but has not succeeded in becoming one]

Over the past decade, however, advances in digital printing technologies have brought the costs of publication down and paved the way for thousands of frustrated writers to get their work into print.

—Robert K. J. Killheffer

Examples of frustrated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For over two months, frustrated drivers have had to deal with rising pump prices. —Heath Kalb, CBS News, 8 May 2026

The author Virginia Woolf wrote a famous speculative essay about Shakespeare’s sister Judith—a young woman with all of his talent and none of his opportunities who ended her frustrated life by suicide in a roadside ditch. —Literary Hub, 8 May 2026

The final straw for a frustrated Overland Park City Council came after potentially shoddy construction work done without the proper permits left the roof at risk of collapse. —Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 7 May 2026

But getting there required a lot of frustrated searching and yelling at old StackOverflow posts. —Lee Hutchinson, ArsTechnica, 6 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1574, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for frustrated

• abated
• ablated
• awaited
• belated
• berated
• castrated
• chelated
• citrated
• collated
• conflated
• created
• curated

Medical Definition

frustrated

adjective

frus·​trat·​ed

: filled with a sense of frustration : feeling deep insecurity, discouragement, or dissatisfaction

learned not to resort to aggressiveness when frustrated

—Ashley Montagu