frustrate
/ˈfɹʌsˌtɹeɪt/verb, adjective
frustrate is spelled F-R-U-S-T-R-A-T-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, frustrate means “To disappoint or defeat; to vex by depriving of something expected or desired” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in frustrate?
| Letters | 9: F-R-U-S-T-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,270th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is frustrate?
Frustrate appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce frustrate?
- UK /fɹʌˈstɹeɪt/
- US /ˈfɹʌsˌtɹeɪt/
Frustrate has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-frustrate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of frustrate
- frustrates present, singular, he/she/it
- frustrating participle, present
- frustrated participle, past
- more frustrate comparative
- most frustrate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does frustrate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To disappoint or defeat; to vex by depriving of something expected or desired.
It frustrates me to do all this work and then lose it all.
- 2
To hinder or thwart.
My clumsy fingers frustrate my typing efforts.
- 3
To cause stress or annoyance.
This test frustrates me because if I fail, it'll destroy my grade.
adjective
- 1
Ineffectual; useless; fruitless.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Frustrate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to disappoint or defeat:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | frustrer |
| German | frustrieren |
| Portuguese | frustrar |
| Spanish | frustrar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does frustrate come from?
From Middle English frustraten (“to prevent, disappoint, render useless”), from Latin frūstrātus, perfect passive participle of frūstrō (“to deceive”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare French frustrer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).