Which to use
“frustrating” is an adjective and “frustration” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,450
- “frustrating” frequency rank
- #7,451
- “frustration” frequency rank
- 14901
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | frustrating | frustration |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Discouraging; causing annoyance or anger by excessive difficulty. | The feeling of annoyance at impossibility from resistance or inability to achieve something. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set frustrating and frustration apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: frustrating is /fɹəˈstɹeɪ̯tɪŋ/ while frustration is /fɹʌsˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14901, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
frustrating is recorded at frequency rank #7,450, classified as anadj, pronounced /fɹəˈstɹeɪ̯tɪŋ/. frustration is at rank #7,451, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɹʌsˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 14901, this pair ranks #467,273 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of frustrating vs frustration
Shared letters: afinrstu. Private to "frustrating": g. Private to "frustration": o.
"frustrating" · 11 letters · shape CCVCCCVCVCC · "frustration" · 11 letters · shape CCVCCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- frustrating ← ffrustrating · frrustrating · frsutrating · frusrtating · frusstrating · frustarting · frustraitng · frustratign
- frustration ← ffrustration · frrustration · frsutration · frusrtation · frusstration · frustartion · frustraiton · frustrasion
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "frustrating" and "frustration" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "frustrating" or "frustration"?
Remembering frustrating vs frustration
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “frustrating”; for a noun, it's “frustration”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “frustrating” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable