frustrate

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frus·trate

(frŭs′trāt′)

tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates

a. To prevent (someone) from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: A persistent wind frustrated me as I tried to rake the leaves.

b. To cause feelings of discouragement, annoyance, or lack of fulfillment in: She was frustrated by his inability to remember her birthday.

2. To prevent from coming to fruition or fulfillment; render ineffectual: frustrated his ambition; frustrated their scheme for reform.

[Middle English frustraten, from Latin frūstrārī, frūstrāt-, from frūstrā, in vain.]

frus′trat′er n.

frus′trat′ing·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

frustrate

(frʌˈstreɪt)

vb (tr)

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

2. to upset, agitate, or tire: her constant complaints began to frustrate him.

adj

archaic frustrated or thwarted; baffled

[C15: from Latin frustrāre to cheat, from frustrā in error]

frusˈtrater n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

frus•trate

(ˈfrʌs treɪt)

v. -trat•ed, -trat•ing,
adj. v.t.

1. to make (plans, efforts, etc.) worthless or of no avail; defeat; nullify.

2. to disappoint or thwart (a person).

v.i.

3. to become frustrated.

adj.

4. frustrated.

[1400–50; late Middle English < Latin frustrātus, past participle of frustrārī, v. derivative of frustrā in vain]

frus′trat•er, n.

frus′trat•ing•ly, adv.

frustrate

Past participle: frustrated
Gerund: frustrating

Imperative
frustrate
frustrate

Present
I frustrate
you frustrate
he/she/it frustrates
we frustrate
you frustrate
they frustrate

Preterite
I frustrated
you frustrated
he/she/it frustrated
we frustrated
you frustrated
they frustrated

Present Continuous
I am frustrating
you are frustrating
he/she/it is frustrating
we are frustrating
you are frustrating
they are frustrating

Present Perfect
I have frustrated
you have frustrated
he/she/it has frustrated
we have frustrated
you have frustrated
they have frustrated

Past Continuous
I was frustrating
you were frustrating
he/she/it was frustrating
we were frustrating
you were frustrating
they were frustrating

Past Perfect
I had frustrated
you had frustrated
he/she/it had frustrated
we had frustrated
you had frustrated
they had frustrated

Future
I will frustrate
you will frustrate
he/she/it will frustrate
we will frustrate
you will frustrate
they will frustrate

Future Perfect
I will have frustrated
you will have frustrated
he/she/it will have frustrated
we will have frustrated
you will have frustrated
they will have frustrated

Future Continuous
I will be frustrating
you will be frustrating
he/she/it will be frustrating
we will be frustrating
you will be frustrating
they will be frustrating

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been frustrating
you have been frustrating
he/she/it has been frustrating
we have been frustrating
you have been frustrating
they have been frustrating

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been frustrating
you will have been frustrating
he/she/it will have been frustrating
we will have been frustrating
you will have been frustrating
they will have been frustrating

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been frustrating
you had been frustrating
he/she/it had been frustrating
we had been frustrating
you had been frustrating
they had been frustrating

Conditional
I would frustrate
you would frustrate
he/she/it would frustrate
we would frustrate
you would frustrate
they would frustrate

Past Conditional
I would have frustrated
you would have frustrated
he/she/it would have frustrated
we would have frustrated
you would have frustrated
they would have frustrated

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	frustrate - hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; "What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge"; "foil your opponent" queer, scotch, thwart, foil, baffle, bilk, cross, spoil disappoint, let down - fail to meet the hopes or expectations of; "Her boyfriend let her down when he did not propose marriage" foreclose, forestall, preclude, prevent, forbid - keep from happening or arising; make impossible; "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"; "Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project" dash - destroy or break; "dashed ambitions and hopes" short-circuit - hamper the progress of; impede; "short-circuit warm feelings" ruin - destroy or cause to fail; "This behavior will ruin your chances of winning the election"
	2.	frustrate - treat cruelly; "The children tormented the stuttering teacher" bedevil, dun, rag, torment, crucify madden - drive up the wall; go on someone's nerves beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, plague, provoke - annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female co-workers" hamstring - make ineffective or powerless; "The teachers were hamstrung by the overly rigid schedules" badger, beleaguer, bug, pester, tease - annoy persistently; "The children teased the boy because of his stammer" persecute, oppress - cause to suffer; "Jews were persecuted in the former Soviet Union"

frustrate

verb

1. discourage, anger, depress, annoy, infuriate, exasperate, dishearten, dissatisfy These questions frustrated me.
discourage encourage, cheer, hearten

2. thwart, stop, check, block, defeat, disappoint, counter, confront, spoil, foil, baffle, inhibit, hobble, balk, circumvent, forestall, neutralize, stymie, nullify, render null and void The government has deliberately frustrated his efforts.
thwart further, forward, encourage, advance, promote, satisfy, stimulate, endorse

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

frustrate

verb

To prevent from accomplishing a purpose:

baffle, balk, check, checkmate, defeat, foil, stymie, thwart.

Informal: cross, stump.

Idiom: cut the ground from under.

Translations

يُحْبِط، يُفْشِليُخَيِّب الآمال

otrávitzmařitznechutit

få til at miste modetforpurrefrustrere

frustieren vereiteln

abortar frustrar

estäätehdäturhauttaatyhjävaikeuttaa

faire échouer frustrer

frustrirati

csalódást okoz vkinek

ergja, skapraunagera aî engu, ónÿta

frustrare frustrazione

įvaryti į neviltįpaversti niekaispuolęs į neviltį

izjauktradīt neapmierinātību/vilšanos

bringe til fortvilelse gjøre unyttig

canını sıkmakengel olmakönlemek

使感到灰心使无效

frustrate

[frʌsˈtreɪt] VT [+ plan, effort, person] → frustrar; [+ hope] → defraudar
to feel frustrated → sentirse frustrado
he's a frustrated artist → es un artista frustrado

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

frustrate

[frʌˈstreɪt] vt

(= fill with frustration) [+ person] → frustrer

[+ plot, plans] → faire échouer; [+ efforts] → contrarier

frustrate

vt person → frustrieren; hopes → zunichtemachen; plans, plot → durchkreuzen, zerstören; he was frustrated in his efforts → seine Anstrengungen waren umsonst or vergebens; rescuers were frustrated in their search by bad weather → die Retter wurden durch schlechtes Wetter bei der Suche behindert

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

frustrate

[frʌˈstreɪt] vt (plan, effort, hope) → rendere vano/a; (person) → frustrare

frustrate

(fraˈstreit) , ((American) ˈfrastreit) verb

1. to make (someone) feel disappointed, useless etc. Staying at home all day frustrated her.

2. to make useless. His efforts were frustrated.

fruˈstration noun

frusˈtrated adjective

1. disappointed; unhappy; not satisfied. She is very unhappy and frustrated as a teacher.

2. unable to have the kind of job, career etc that one would like. Literary critics are often frustrated writers.

frustrate

vt frustrar

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Starbuck's body and Starbuck's coerced will were Ahab's, so long as Ahab kept his magnet at Starbuck's brain; still he knew that for all this the chief mate, in his soul, abhorred his captain's quest, and could he, would joyfully disintegrate himself from it, or even frustrate it.

View in context

As he had therefore no hopes of obtaining her father's consent; so he thought to endeavour to succeed without it, and by such means to frustrate the great point of Mr Western's life, was to make a very ill use of his hospitality, and a very ungrateful return to the many little favours received (however roughly) at his hands.

View in context

This kind of trouble Tom and his friends had experienced before, on other trips where rivals had sought to frustrate their ends.

View in context

The idea is one that no circumstances can frustrate. Wherever and whenever that piece is put on, it is April.

View in context

Formerly, an invading army would penetrate into the heart of a neighboring country almost as soon as intelligence of its approach could be received; but now a comparatively small force of disciplined troops, acting on the defensive, with the aid of posts, is able to impede, and finally to frustrate, the enterprises of one much more considerable.

View in context

Fortunately their plot was overheard by John Day, the Kentuckian, and communicated to the partners, who took quiet and effectual means to frustrate it.