flustered

adjective

flus·​tered ˈflə-stərd 

: in a state of agitated confusion

She became so flustered that she'd … kept repeating, "Gosh, I can't even think …" Later she confided, "I was almost in tears right after doing those numbers."

—Stephen S. Hall

The flustered lady gave me a blank stare and said, "That's not Mr. Franklin. The guard said Mr. Franklin was on his way up."

—Dick Francis

… the oxen … seemed more patient and less flustered than their masters …

—Deborah Straw

flusteredly adverb

"Everything's under control, I think!" she says a little flusteredly. "We had a problem with the table posies, but fingers crossed, they should be on their way … ."

—Sophie Kinsella

Examples of flustered in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The comedy is instead more deadpan, with Rhys playing the flustered straight man against a (sometimes literal) murderer’s row of ensemble members and guest stars. —Alison Herman, Variety, 29 Apr. 2026

But this only made Kennedy more flustered. —Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026

Our flustered narrator attempts to defend himself on the grounds of sketchy reporting ethics—don’t some interviewers take notes and extrapolate later? —Hannah Gold, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026

Caroline comes down all flustered, acting like Carolyn was about to feed her daughter to a lion. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see fluster entry 1

First Known Use

1743, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for flustered

• blustered
• bustard
• clustered
• custard
• mustard
• mustered