frustrate
[fruhs-treyt]
- to make (plans, efforts, etc.) worthless or of no avail; defeat; nullify: The student's indifference frustrated the teacher's efforts to help him.
- to disappoint or thwart (a person): a talented woman whom life had frustrated.
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- to become frustrated: His trouble is that he frustrates much too easily.
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- Obsolete. frustrated.
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Origin of frustrate
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin frustrātus, past participle of frustrārī, verbal derivative of frustrā in vain
Synonyms
See more synonyms for frustrate on Thesaurus.com1. balk, foil, circumvent. See thwart.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for frustrate
Contemporary Examples
The delays would cause chaos and snarl traffic at checkpoints, frustrate orderly schedules, and make tempers short.
Iraqi Insurgents Circulate the Lie That They Killed the Judge in Saddam’s TrialMichael Newton
June 28, 2014
Such side-stepping will frustrate newcomers in search of elucidation, or at the very least a fuller picture.
The federal and state governments create cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all solutions that frustrate rather than serve.
As a result, using the language of war may only serve to frustrate and mislead the public.
But deadlock in Congress, with the focus on debt instead of demand, continues to frustrate the recovery.
Historical Examples
She turned to retreat, but the other two were there to frustrate her purpose.
The Night RidersRidgwell Cullum
But there was always a Great Power to frustrate these designs.
The Birth of Yugoslavia, Volume 1Henry Baerlein
Here is an opportunity to frustrate the authoritative (father) figure.
A Practical Guide to Self-HypnosisMelvin Powers
Did she, like the rest of them, suspect me of seeking to frustrate his suit by withholding his fortune?
DrossHenry Seton Merriman
Cleveland, baffled and frustrate, straightened up and shut off his cameras.
TriplanetaryEdward Elmer Smith
frustrate
- to hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; thwart
- to upset, agitate, or tireher constant complaints began to frustrate him
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- archaic frustrated or thwarted; baffled
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin frustrāre to cheat, from frustrā in error
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for frustrate
v.
mid-15c., from Latin frustratus, past participle of frustrari "to deceive, disappoint, frustrate," from frustra (adv.) "in vain, in error," related to fraus "injury, harm" (see fraud). Related: Frustrated; frustrating.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper