frazzling

verb

present participle of frazzle
1
as in eroding
to damage or diminish by continued friction years of use have frazzled the cord for the window blinds to the breaking point

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in exhausting
to use up all the physical energy of trying to hold down two full-time jobs had completely frazzled him

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in distracting
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy an endless series of dietary warnings that had served only to frazzle the general public

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of frazzling Instead of allowing for greater focus, the latest AI tools are overwhelming workers, frazzling minds and shredding attention spans. — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 18 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frazzling
  1. eroding
  2. exhausting
  3. distracting
  4. fraying
  5. tiring
  6. disturbing
  7. wearing
  8. killing
Verb
  • One partial solution for some areas is to import sand to replenish eroding beaches, but that can carry a hefty price tag.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026
  • And then, there is the second barrier — which is also eroding quickly.
    — Ashish K. Jha, STAT, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of eroding
Verb
  • The gentle squeeze around your legs provides other surprising health benefits on exhausting travel days.
    — Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Commanders should seek positional advantages without exhausting their soldiers, manipulate the enemy’s movements when possible, and recognize when circumstances make pursuit or attack unwise.
    — Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of exhausting
Verb
  • The sets have too many doors, the scenes have a delirious number of extras and the actors yell their lines over the distracting clatter of crackling fireplaces, beeping machines and ticking clocks.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The text was crisp and easy to read, the matte display minimized distracting reflections, and the ink paper mode made reading comfortable.
    — Kimberly Gedeon, PC Magazine, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of distracting
Verb
  • At a time when the social safety net is fraying and affordability is a midterm-election mantra, churches are stepping into the void.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Hegseth’s fraying ties on the Hill put him on course for a bigger headache after the election, according to interviews with a half-dozen senators as well as multiple administration officials.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of fraying
Verb
  • In the Los Angeles Times, Seema Mehta and Nicole Nixon report that Steyer’s ability to appear everywhere ended up tiring out voters.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 10 June 2026
  • Meanwhile, Shenzhen startup EngineAI can be forgiven for tiring out its PM01 humanoid.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 7 June 2026
Definition of tiring
Verb
  • By mimicking the oarfish’s fluid control, Shepherd’s team aims to construct large, silent robotic monitors capable of observing fragile ocean ecosystems without ever disturbing the wildlife inside them.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Baldwin alleged that decision was just one part of a pattern of disturbing prosecutorial abuses, including presenting false information to the grand jury, failing to disclose two firearms reports, and filing an unlawful gun enhancement.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of disturbing
Verb
  • For a decade, hundreds of Black women and girls have gathered in Kansas City wearing curls, coils, locs, braids and Afros for an annual photograph intended to challenge narrow ideas about what beautiful hair is supposed to look like.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Dixie D’Amelio sauntered in wearing a shimmering black Gucci dress.
    — Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of wearing
Verb
  • California’s plan to save coastal homes from El Niño could end up killing beaches.
    — Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Attorneys for the men argued Harris fired the first shots, killing Turner and setting off the gun battle.
    — Daniel Hunt, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of killing

Browse Nearby Words

frazzles
frazzling
freak
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Frazzling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frazzling. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All