FRUSTRATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does frustrate mean? 

• FRUSTRATE (verb)
  The verb FRUSTRATE has 2 senses:

1. hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

2. treat cruelly

  Familiarity information: FRUSTRATE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FRUSTRATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they frustrate    ... he / she / it frustrates   
Past simple: frustrated   
Past participle: frustrated   
-ing form: frustrating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

baffle; bilk; cross; foil; frustrate; queer; scotch; spoil; thwart

Context example:

foil your opponent

Hypernyms (to "frustrate" is one way to...):

forbid; foreclose; forestall; preclude; prevent (keep from happening or arising; make impossible)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "frustrate"):

disappoint; let down (fail to meet the hopes or expectations of)

dash (destroy or break)

short-circuit (hamper the progress of; impede)

ruin (destroy or cause to fail)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

frustration (an act of hindering someone's plans or efforts)

frustration (a feeling of annoyance at being hindered or criticized)

frustration (the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals)

frustrative (preventing realization or attainment of a desire)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Treat cruelly

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

bedevil; crucify; dun; frustrate; rag; torment

Context example:

The children tormented the stuttering teacher

Hypernyms (to "frustrate" is one way to...):

beset; chevvy; chevy; chivvy; chivy; harass; harry; hassle; molest; plague; provoke (annoy continually or chronically)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "frustrate"):

madden (drive up the wall; go on someone's nerves)

hamstring (make ineffective or powerless)

badger; beleaguer; bug; pester; tease (annoy persistently)

oppress; persecute (cause to suffer)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to frustrate Sue

Derivation:

frustration (a feeling of annoyance at being hindered or criticized)

 Context examples 

Getting a diagnosis can be frustrating and stressful.

(Autoimmune Diseases, NIH)

You were frustrated to see that no matter how hard you worked, your income stubbornly stayed at about the same level.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (FAMS) General Contentment: I am frustrated by my condition.

(FAMS - I Am Frustrated by My Condition, NCI Thesaurus)

A question about whether an individual gets frustrated because they can't do things that they used to be able to do.

(Get Frustrated That I Cannot Do Things I Used To, NCI Thesaurus)

It's frustrating to be unable to hear well enough to enjoy talking with friends or family.

(Hearing Disorders and Deafness, NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

If you do, then all my earnest efforts to avoid a scandal will be frustrated.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The possibility that intermediate mass black holes exist but are currently hidden from our view is both tantalizing and frustrating, according to Deidre Shoemaker of Georgia Tech, a co-author of the paper.

(Observing 'black hole symphony' using gravitational wave astronomy, National Science Foundation)

The Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (OAB-q) Made you frustrated or annoyed about the amount of time you spend in the restroom?

(OAB-q - Frustrated or Annoyed About the Amount of Time You Spend in the Restroom, NCI Thesaurus)

The Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Short Form (OAB-q Short Form) Made you frustrated or annoyed about the amount of time you spend in the restroom?

(OAB-q Short Form - Frustrated or Annoyed About the Amount of Time You Spend in the Restroom, NCI Thesaurus)

At first he was silent in his fighting; but as we began to master him, and the attendants were putting a strait-waistcoat on him, he began to shout: 'I'll frustrate them!

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)