Adjacent Words

Frustrate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FRUS'TRATE, v.t. [L. frustro.]
1. Literally, to break or interrupt; hence, to defeat; to disappoint; to balk; to bring to nothing; as, to frustrate a plan, design or attempt; to frustrate the will or purpose.
2. To disappoint; applied to persons.
3. To make null; to nullify; to render of no effect; as, to frustrate a conveyance or deed.
FRUS'TRATE, part. a. Vain; ineffectual; useless; unprofitable; null; void; of no effect.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; "What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge"; "foil your opponent" [syn: thwart, queer, spoil, scotch, foil, cross, frustrate, baffle, bilk]
2: treat cruelly; "The children tormented the stuttering teacher" [syn: torment, rag, bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate]

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb (frustrated; frustrating) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin frustratus, past participle of frustrare to deceive, frustrate, from frustra in error, in vain Date: 15th century 1. a. to balk or defeat in an endeavor b. to induce feelings of discouragement in 2. a. (1) to make ineffectual ; bring to nothing (2) impede, obstruct b. to make invalid or of no effect Synonyms: frustrate, thwart, foil, baffle, balk mean to check or defeat another's plan or block achievement of a goal. frustrate implies making vain or ineffectual all efforts however vigorous or persistent <frustrated attempts at government reform>. thwart suggests frustration or checking by crossing or opposing <the army thwarted his attempt at a coup>. foil implies checking or defeating so as to discourage further effort <foiled by her parents, he stopped trying to see her>. baffle implies frustration by confusing or puzzling <baffled by the maze of rules and regulations>. balk suggests the interposing of obstacles or hindrances <officials felt that legal restrictions had balked their efforts to control crime>. II. adjective Date: 15th century characterized by frustration

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & adj. --v.tr. 1 make (efforts) ineffective. 2 prevent (a person) from achieving a purpose. 3 (as frustrated adj.) a discontented because unable to achieve one's desire. b sexually unfulfilled. 4 disappoint (a hope). --adj. archaic frustrated. Derivatives: frustratedly adv. frustrater n. frustrating adj. frustratingly adv. frustration n. Etymology: ME f. L frustrari frustrat- f. frustra in vain

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Frustrate Frus"trate, a. [L. frustratus, p. p. of frustrare, frustrari, to deceive, frustrate, fr. frustra in vain, witout effect, in erorr, prob. for frudtra and akin to fraus, E. fraud.] Vain; ineffectual; useless; unprofitable; null; voil; nugatory; of no effect. ``Our frustrate search.'' --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Frustrate Frus"trate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Frustrated; p. pr. & vb. n. Frustrating.] 1. To bring to nothing; to prevent from attaining a purpose; to disappoint; to defeat; to baffle; as, to frustrate a plan, design, or attempt; to frustrate the will or purpose. Shall the adversary thus obtain His end and frustrate thine ? --Milton. 2. To make null; to nullifly; to render invalid or of no effect; as, to frustrate a conveyance or deed. Syn: To balk; thwart; foil; baffle; defeat.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(frustrates, frustrating, frustrated) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If something frustrates you, it upsets or angers you because you are unable to do anything about the problems it creates. These questions frustrated me... Doesn't it frustrate you that audiences in the theatre are so restricted? VERB: V n, V n • frustrated Roberta felt frustrated and angry. ...voters who are frustrated with the council. ADJ: usu v-link ADJ • frustration (frustrations) The results show the level of frustration among hospital doctors. ...a man fed up with the frustrations of everyday life. N-VAR 2. If someone or something frustrates a plan or attempt to do something, they prevent it from succeeding. The government has deliberately frustrated his efforts to gain work permits for his foreign staff. ...her frustrated attempt to become governor. VERB: V n, V-ed

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

frus'-trat (parar; atheteo): "Frustrate" (from frustra, "vain") is the translation of parar, "to break," "to make void," "to bring to nothing" (Ezr 4:5), "to frustrate their purpose" (Isa 44:25, "that frustrateth the signs of the liars"); of atheteo, "to displace," "to reject or make void or null": Ga 2:21, "I do not frustrate the grace of God" (by setting up the righteousness which is "through the law"), the Revised Version (British and American) "make void"; compare /APC 1Macc 11:36, "Nothing hereof shall be revoked," the Revised Version (British and American) "annulled" (atheteo).

Revised Version has "frustrateth" for "disappointeth" (Job 5:12, parar).

The adjective appears ( /APC 2Esdras 10:34), "frustrate of my hope" ( /APC Judith 11:11, "frustrate of his purpose" (apraktos)).

W. L. Walker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Defeat, disappoint, balk, foil, baffle, disconcert, circumvent, check, thwart, disappoint, bring to nought. II. a. Vain, useless, ineffectual, frustrated, null, void, of no effect.

Moby Thesaurus

annul, anticipate, arrest, baffle, balk, bar, beat, bilk, blast, block, brave, bring to nothing, buffalo, buffer, cancel, cancel out, cast down, challenge, check, checkmate, circumvent, come to nothing, confound, confront, conquer, contravene, counter, counteract, counterbalance, countermand, counterwork, cripple, cross, dash, deceive, defeat, defeat expectation, defy, destroy, disappoint, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, discourage, dish, disillusion, disrupt, dissatisfy, elude, evade, exasperate, flummox, foil, forbid, forestall, get around, get round, give the runaround, give the slip, go one better, halt, hamper, hamstring, hinder, impede, inhibit, interrupt, invalidate, knock the chocks, let down, lick, negate, negativate, negative, neutralize, nonplus, nullify, obstruct, obviate, offset, outfigure, outflank, outgeneral, outguess, outmaneuver, outplay, outreach, outsmart, outwit, overcome, overreach, pass the buck, perplex, preclude, prevent, prohibit, redress, repel, repulse, ruin, sabotage, scotch, spike, spoil, stonewall, stop, stultify, stump, stymie, tantalize, tease, thwart, undo, upset, victimize, vitiate, void