frus·trate
ˈfrə-ˌstrāt 
frustrated; frustrating
1
a
: to balk or defeat in an endeavor
frustrated her opponents by her ball-handling
b
: to induce feelings of discouragement in
Not being able to find a job frustrated him.
: characterized by frustration
Examples of frustrate in a Sentence
Verb
It frustrated him to miss so many games because of injuries.
We've been frustrated by bureaucratic delays.
Bureaucratic delays have frustrated our efforts to resolve this problem.
The lack of investors has frustrated them in their efforts to expand the company.
Recent Examples on the Web
Charlie Campbell, Time, 29 May 2025
Musk was reportedly frustrated about OpenAI being part of the deal and allegedly warned G42 officials on a call that Trump would not sign off on a deal unless his company xAI was included.
—Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
Integration With Existing Systems Few things frustrate banking professionals more than clunky systems that don’t talk to one another.
—Gegham Azatyan, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for frustrate
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Verb
His Democratic Party predecessor, Moon Jae-in, had three years with a near supermajority in the legislature but had his agenda frustrated by party colleagues with little appetite for painful corrective measures.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 29 May 2025
Musk was reportedly frustrated about OpenAI being part of the deal and allegedly warned G42 officials on a call that Trump would not sign off on a deal unless his company xAI was included.
—Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
Adjective
Stick to Standard Headings Creative section titles confuse ATS systems and frustrate recruiters who expect conventional resume organization.
—Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
Integration With Existing Systems Few things frustrate banking professionals more than clunky systems that don’t talk to one another.
—Gegham Azatyan, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for frustrate
Cite this Entry
“Frustrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frustrate. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
frustrate
transitive verb
frus·trate
ˈfrəs-ˌtrāt
frustrated; frustrating
: to induce feelings of frustration in
Legal Definition
frustrate
transitive verb
frus·trate
ˈfrəs-ˌtrāt
frustrated; frustrating
: to make invalid or ineffectual : defeat
the remedial purposes of the Workers' Compensation Act should not be frustrated by rigid technical standards—Palmer v. Bath Iron Works Corp., 559 A.2d 340 (1989)
Palmer v. Bath Iron Works Corp., 559 A.2d 340 (1989)Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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