flustered
Americanadjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of flustered
Explanation
To be flustered is to lose your cool. When you're flustered, you're embarrassed, agitated, or just confused. If your pants fell down in the middle of class while you were giving a presentation, you'd probably be flustered: highly embarrassed, out of breath, and a little freaked out. It's hard to concentrate when you're flustered — it's a distracting state of mind. Being flustered isn't quite as bad as being panicked, but it's close. People can also get flustered by good things, like if someone you had a crush on kissed you.
Vocabulary lists containing flustered
The Giver
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The City of Ember
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Midway through, a flustered young man strolling past turned to a trio of gray-haired protesters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
“Let me put on some clothes first,” she told the nurse, flustered.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
Colbert was flustered, to say the least, during the interview afterward.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
But he got noticeably flustered when asked about his relationship with Shivon Zilis.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
Miss Love, real flustered, said, “Why don’t you tell about the big new department store we went in, Mr. Blakeslee?”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
