frustrating

adjective

frus·​trat·​ing ˈfrə-ˌstrā-tiŋ 

: causing feelings of anger and annoyance : tending to produce or characterized by frustration

a frustrating delay

a very frustrating experience

Mischel concludes that having the willpower to wait isn't about being stoic. It's about learning techniques that make waiting less frustrating.

—Pamela Druckerman

frustratingly adverb

a frustratingly slow process

The book is sprawling and self-indulgent. Most frustratingly, it is almost entirely devoid of serious military analysis.

—Hew Strachan

Synonyms

• abrasive
• aggravating
• annoying
• bothersome
• carking
• chafing
• disturbing
• exasperating
• galling
• irksome
• irritating
• maddening
• nettlesome
• nettling
• peeving
• pesky
• pestiferous
• pestilent
• pestilential
• pesty
• plaguey
• plaguy
• rankling
• rebarbative
• riling
• vexatious
• vexing

Examples of frustrating in a Sentence

All these delays have been very frustrating.

these daily traffic jams are frustrating

Recent Examples on the Web

Technical glitches and changing rules are frustrating borrowers trying to plan. —Shahar Ziv, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025

Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson spoke about the frustrating Game 2 loss, revealing a big regret that led to the defeat. —Matt Levine, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025

The amateurish operation is frustrating from the start, seeking to mimic a storybook fantasy by using turning-page graphics and exposition-dump narration to bookend the film. —Courtney Howard, Variety, 8 May 2025

So for someone to minimize that is so sad and so frustrating. —Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 8 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1871, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for frustrating

• abating
• awaiting
• berating
• castrating
• chelating
• collating
• conflating
• creating
• debating
• deflating
• derating
• dictating

Kids Definition

frustrating

adjective

: producing frustration

a frustrating delay

frustratingly adverb