fluster
verb /ˈflʌstə(r)/
/ˈflʌstər/
[often passive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they fluster | /ˈflʌstə(r)/ /ˈflʌstər/ |
| he / she / it flusters | /ˈflʌstəz/ /ˈflʌstərz/ |
| past simple flustered | /ˈflʌstəd/ /ˈflʌstərd/ |
| past participle flustered | /ˈflʌstəd/ /ˈflʌstərd/ |
| -ing form flustering | /ˈflʌstərɪŋ/ /ˈflʌstərɪŋ/ |
- to make somebody nervous and/or confused, especially by giving them a lot to do or by making them hurry
- fluster somebody Don’t fluster me or I’ll never be ready.
- be flustered (by something) He was flustered by all the attention.
- She was clearly flustered by Marshall’s unexpected arrival.
Word Originearly 17th cent. (in the sense ‘make slightly drunk’): perhaps of Scandinavian origin and related to Icelandic flaustra ‘hurry, bustle’.