What does “frustrate” mean?
- 1
verbto make someone feel annoyed because they cannot do what they want
The slow internet really frustrates me.
- 2
verbto prevent a plan or effort from succeeding
Bad weather frustrated their attempt to reach the summit.
Frustrate at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb
- CEFR level
- B2 (upper intermediate)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈfrʌstreɪt/ · FRUS-trayt
How to use “frustrate” correctly
The “prevent” sense is formal and common in academic and news writing.
Common phrases with “frustrate”
- frustrate efforts
- frustrate plans
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- annoy
- thwart
- hinder
Word family
- frustration
- frustrated
- frustrating
“frustrate” is on these word lists
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