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

When these expectations aren't aligned, both sides feel frustrated. —Nolan Garrett, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025

While there is still a lot of time left, fans are becoming more frustrated with each loss. —Drew Vonscio, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 July 2025

Feeling frustrated and misunderstood, the man turned to Reddit for perspective. —Ashley Vega, People.com, 2 July 2025

Cincinnati's police union president Ken Kober argued that the public would be even more frustrated with a BCI investigation. —Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1643, 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