flustered
adjective
flus·tered
ˈflə-stərd 
: in a state of agitated confusion
She became so flustered that she'd … kept repeating, "Gosh, I can't even think …" Later she confided, "I was almost in tears right after doing those numbers."—
Stephen S. Hall
Stephen S. HallThe flustered lady gave me a blank stare and said, "That's not Mr. Franklin. The guard said Mr. Franklin was on his way up."—Dick Francis
Dick Francis… the oxen … seemed more patient and less flustered than their masters …—Deborah Straw
Deborah Straw
flusteredly
adverb
"Everything's under control, I think!" she says a little flusteredly. "We had a problem with the table posies, but fingers crossed, they should be on their way … ."
—Sophie Kinsella
Sophie Kinsella
Examples of flustered in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hostin asked Behar, who appeared flustered by the question.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 14 Feb. 2024
White remembers VanDerveer telling her to park herself in the key, knowing the point guard would get flustered at not having anyone guard her.
—USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2024
When Lemon pressed for details about what was discussed, Musk seemed flustered and waited a few moments to respond.
—Taylor Telford, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024
Parrilla, who is half-Italian, half-Puerto Rican, is all flustered earnestness, a woman who wants to embrace her identity, but also feels pinned down by her guilt and discomfort with difficult conversations.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
On Wednesday, inside a conference room in Kentucky where Mr. McConnell was speaking, his aides appeared flustered by the senator’s abrupt spell.
—Annie Karni, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023
In the big finale, Chalamet mostly seems flustered and annoyed, like someone disappointed with his hotel accommodations.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024
The Ravens’ Super Bowl dreams ended with a flustered, flat performance against the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat them, 17-10, before a deflated home crowd that had hoped to celebrate an ascendant Lamar Jackson.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 29 Jan. 2024
Indiana’s defense was flustered against a squad that’s typically perimeter-oriented.
—Zion Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Jan. 2024
Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 14 Feb. 2024
White remembers VanDerveer telling her to park herself in the key, knowing the point guard would get flustered at not having anyone guard her.
—USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2024
When Lemon pressed for details about what was discussed, Musk seemed flustered and waited a few moments to respond.
—Taylor Telford, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024
Parrilla, who is half-Italian, half-Puerto Rican, is all flustered earnestness, a woman who wants to embrace her identity, but also feels pinned down by her guilt and discomfort with difficult conversations.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
On Wednesday, inside a conference room in Kentucky where Mr. McConnell was speaking, his aides appeared flustered by the senator’s abrupt spell.
—Annie Karni, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023
In the big finale, Chalamet mostly seems flustered and annoyed, like someone disappointed with his hotel accommodations.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024
The Ravens’ Super Bowl dreams ended with a flustered, flat performance against the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat them, 17-10, before a deflated home crowd that had hoped to celebrate an ascendant Lamar Jackson.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 29 Jan. 2024
Indiana’s defense was flustered against a squad that’s typically perimeter-oriented.
—Zion Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flustered.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near flustered
Cite this Entry
“Flustered.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flustered. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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