flustered 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of flusterednext
as in irritated

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flustered

2 of 2

verb

past tense of fluster
as in embarrassed
to throw into a state of self-conscious distress was flustered when her parents dragged out her baby pictures for her new boyfriend

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flustered
Adjective
Clayton appeared frustrated and flustered as Ossoff repeated the question several times. — Mary Clare Jalonick, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026 Rikke and Karl’s mother Vibeke (Dyrholm) — from whom Karl has pointedly distanced himself for some time, and who has never even met Emilie, let alone the baby — arrives to a flurry of flustered introductions and hastily rearranged expressions. — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 7 July 2026
Verb
On the witness stand, the teenager was reportedly combative and flustered by Jackson’s attorney Tom Mesereau, who attempted to poke holes in Gavin’s testimony and allegedly screamed at the boy throughout. — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 3 June 2026 This comes up every few years, and everyone gets all flustered every few years. — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for flustered
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flustered
  1. irritated
  2. embarrassed
  3. upset
  4. confused
  5. nervous
  6. rattled
  7. agitated
  8. aggravated
Adjective
  • Nice people may of course become irritated, disappointed, jealous, or defensive, since niceness does not require sainthood.
    — Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Soto, looking irritated, reaches out and slaps him upside the head.
    — Sylvia Varnham O’Regan, Vanity Fair, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of irritated
Verb
  • One night earlier in the tour, a woman Usher had brought onstage rebuked him, which embarrassed him.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2026
  • This isn’t a hypercar to smash lap records around the Nürburgring, but nor will it be embarrassed by a Porsche 911 GT3 at a track day.
    — Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of embarrassed
Adjective
  • Common signs that your dog may be sensitive to something in their food can include frequent scratching, paw licking, gas, loose stools, occasional digestive upset, or changes in coat quality.
    — Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The thinking is that orbital data centers can leapfrog past some of the ground-level issues such as where to build them, and upset communities that don’t want to host data centers, despite their municipalities making deals for construction.
    — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of upset
Verb
  • Cirque Dreams, which also offers several other touring shows, used to be regularly confused with Cirque du Soleil strictly because of the similarity of their names.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Earlier, on direct examination, Heilbrun said it may be confused with psychosis.
    — Melina Khan, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of confused
Adjective
  • Nvidia's forecast comes at a time when investors remain nervous about capital expenditures from large tech companies, the circular nature of financing deals and the return from AI investments.
    — Kai Nicol-Schwarz,Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Why bats can pose a rabies risk Rabies spreads through the saliva or nervous tissue of an infected mammal, usually through a bite.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of nervous
Verb
  • Those drivers’ days (and lives) were rattled far more than those stuck in the backup behind them.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • His campaign website includes a section dedicated to investing in rural communities, and Talarico has focused on data center policy in recent weeks, holding a roundtable in Abilene on the subject that has rattled the state’s rural residents.
    — Eleanor Dearman Updated August 29, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of rattled
Adjective
  • Officers described the videos recorded by that camera, writing that Westman seemed agitated after a visit with family and at times sobbed before driving by the church and school the night before the attack.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026
  • This has driven some agitated investors to see parallels between the current market and the conditions leading up to the dot-com crash of 2000-2002, when the overall S&P 500 lost nearly half its value.
    — Joe D'Allegro, CNBC, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of agitated
Adjective
  • On Monday, Hamby was charged with murder, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and acts, and possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of a felony, jail records show.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Hamby was booked Monday on charges of murder, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and acts, and possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of a felony.
    — Christopher Harris, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of aggravated

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Cite this Entry

“Flustered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flustered. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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