Library / English Dictionary

FRUSTRATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Treat cruelly

Example:

The children tormented the stuttering teacher

Synonyms:

bedevil; crucify; dun; frustrate; rag; torment

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "frustrate" is one way to...):

beset; chevvy; chevy; chivvy; chivy; harass; harry; hassle; molest; plague; provoke (annoy continually or chronically)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "frustrate"):

madden (drive up the wall; go on someone's nerves)

hamstring (make ineffective or powerless)

badger; beleaguer; bug; pester; tease (annoy persistently)

oppress; persecute (cause to suffer)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to frustrate Sue

Derivation:

frustration (a feeling of annoyance at being hindered or criticized)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

Example:

foil your opponent

Synonyms:

baffle; bilk; cross; foil; frustrate; queer; scotch; spoil; thwart

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "frustrate" is one way to...):

forbid; foreclose; forestall; preclude; prevent (keep from happening or arising; make impossible)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "frustrate"):

disappoint; let down (fail to meet the hopes or expectations of)

dash (destroy or break)

short-circuit (hamper the progress of; impede)

ruin (destroy or cause to fail)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

frustration (an act of hindering someone's plans or efforts)

frustration (a feeling of annoyance at being hindered or criticized)

frustration (the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals)

frustrative (preventing realization or attainment of a desire)

Credits

 Context examples: 

His sister and brother-in-law seconded him; but they were frustrated by their heavy outfit and their own incompetence.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

But the big Dutchman frustrated him, seizing him by the nape of the neck and dancing him up and down.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

You have been working hard, but you may feel frustrated that you haven’t made enough headway toward a better position or more income.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

With a great effort she recovered herself and went on:—Then he spoke to me mockingly, 'And so you, like the others, would play your brains against mine. You would help these men to hunt me and frustrate me in my designs!'

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Even redoubling your efforts didn’t help, and doing so only frustrated you even more.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Had we done so, the Count must have guessed our purpose, and would doubtless have taken measures in advance to frustrate such an effort with regard to the others; but now he does not know our intentions.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I know Mercury retrograde can be frustrating, but we are all in the same boat with the trickster’s delays and miscommunications.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Uranus may make you feel ready to bolt from a job you’ve been unhappy with or a professional situation that has become restrictive or frustrating.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

If you’ve been frustrated by not being able to secure a raise or better offer elsewhere, that will all change now and in the weeks and months ahead.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

There was, however, one area that likely frustrated you—your earnings.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)