MEANING
To upset someone’s composure enough to disrupt thought, speech, or coordinated action.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- fluster a speaker
- easily flustered
- fluster someone with questions
On the page
The unexpected question flustered him into giving the wrong date.
A shouting customer could fluster even the experienced clerk.
She was flustered by the alarm and forgot the simple access code.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- fluster / flusters
- Past tense
- flustered
- Past participle
- flustered
- Present participle
- flustering
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- fluster / flusters
- Present continuous
- am/is/are flustering
- Present perfect
- have/has flustered
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been flustering
- Past
- flustered
- Past continuous
- was/were flustering
- Past perfect
- had flustered
- Past perfect continuous
- had been flustering
- Future
- will fluster / flusters
- Future continuous
- will be flustering
- Future perfect
- will have flustered
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been flustering
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: fear. Often caused by pressure, embarrassment, or hurry rather than serious danger; milder and more temporary than terror. Verb forms (base, third-person singular, past, past participle, -ing): fluster, flusters, flustered, flustered, flustering.
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