Word.ws English Dictionary

fluster

Syllables: flust·erUK/ˈflʌstə//ˈflʌstəɹ/

fluster verb: to throw (someone) into a state of confusion or panic; to befuddle, to confuse.

Verb

fluster (third-person singular simple present flusters, present participle flustering, simple past and past participle flustered)

  1. (transitive) To throw (someone) into a state of confusion or panic; to befuddle, to confuse.
    • The aged housekeeper was no less flustered and hurried in obeying the numerous and contradictory commands of her mistress, […]1816, [Walter Scott], chapter V, in The Antiquary. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page...
    • Weel, Sam'l, I d'na want to fluster ye, but she's been ower lang wi' Lisbeth Fargus no to hae learnt her ways.1888, J[ames] M[atthew] Barrie, “The Courting of T’Nowhead’s Bell”, in Auld Licht Idylls, London: Hodder and Stoughton, […], →OCLC, page 186
  2. (transitive) To make emotionally overwhelmed or visibly embarrassed, especially in a sexual or romantic context.
    1. (broadly, transitive) To turn on, to make horny.
  3. (dated, transitive) To make (someone) feel flushed and hot through drinking alcoholic beverages; also, to make (someone) slightly drunk or tipsy.
    • Three lads of Cypres, noble ſvvelling ſpirits, / That hold their honour, in a vvary diſtance, / The very Elements of this vvarlike Iſle, / Haue I tonight fluſtred vvith flovving cups, / And the vvatch too: novv mongſt this flocke of drunkards, / I am to put our Caſsio in ſome action, / That may...c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act...
    • His practice of flustering himself daily with claret was hardly considered as a fault by his contemporaries.1851, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XX, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume IV, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 464
  4. (intransitive) To be agitated and confused; to bustle.
    • He seemed to fluster when speaking in front of many people.
    • [H]e broke out upon Mrs. Sumfit: "Now, then, mother!" which caused her to fluster guiltily, […]1865, George Meredith, “Rhoda Pledges Her Hand”, in Rhoda Fleming. […], volume II, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 195
  5. (intransitive) To become overwhelmed or visibly embarrassed, especially in a sexual or romantic context.
    1. (broadly, intransitive) To become turned on, to become horny.
  6. (UK, dialectal, intransitive) To catch attention; to be showy or splendid.
  7. (intransitive, obsolete) To boast or brag noisily; to bluster, to swagger.
    • And the Apoſtle [Paul] ſeems here moſt peculiarly to have directed this Encomium of the Gospel, as a Defiance to the Philoſophers of his Time, the Fluſtring Vain-glorious Greeks, vvho pretended ſo much to magnify, and even Adore the VViſdom they profeſſed, […]1694 May 8 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar); first published 1698, Robert South, “Christianity Mysterious, and the Wisdom of God in Making it so, Proved in a Sermon Preached at Westminster-Abbey...
  8. (intransitive, obsolete) Of a seed: to produce a shoot quickly.

Noun

fluster (plural flusters)

  1. A state of agitation or confusion; a flutter.
    • Good-morrovv, Madam; hovv do you do to-day? you ſeem to be in a little fluſter.a. 1727 (date written), John Vanbrugh, A Journey to London. Being Part of a Comedy Written by the Late Sir John Vanbrugh, Knt. and Printed after His Own Copy: […], London: […] John Watts, […]...
    • I wouldna wonder but ye're richt, Leeby; for Chirsty would be in an oncommon fluster if she thocht the lad's mither was likely to hear 'at her best chair was torn.1889, J[ames] M[atthew] Barrie, “On the Track of the Minister”, in A Window in Thrums, London: Hodder and Stoughton, […], →OCLC, page 13
    Synonyms:
    flurry
  2. (obsolete) A state of slight drunkenness or tipsiness; also, the excitement caused by this state.
    • It is certainly a very agreeable change, when we see a glass raise a lifeless conversation into all the pleasures of wit and good humour. But when Caska adds to his natural impudence the fluster of a bottle, that which fools call fire when he was sober, all men abhor as outrage when he is drunk.1710 November 28 (Gregorian calendar), Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Richard Steele et al.], “Friday, November 18, 1710”, in The Tatler, number 252; republished in [Richard Steele], editor...
  3. (obsolete, uncertain) Showiness, splendour.
    • Yet to vvork he fell, not omitting firſt to Sum himſelf up in the vvhole vvardrobe of his Function; […] as to the end that being huff'd up in all his Eccleſiaſtical fluſter, he might appear more formidable, and in the pride of his Heart and Habit, out-boniface an Humble Moderator.1676, Andreas Rivetus, Junior [pseudonym; Andrew Marvell], Mr. Smirke. Or, The Divine in Mode. […], [London]: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 4
    • Let no preſent fluſter of Fortune, or flovv of Riches, either tranſport the Man himſelf vvith Confidence, or the Fools about him vvith Admiration, till vve ſee that it makes him better and vviſer than he vvas before, […]1717, Robert South, “The Third Part or Discourse Concerning Temptation. 2 Peter ii. 9.”, in Twelve Sermons and Discourses on Several Subjects and Occasions. […], volume VI, London: […] Jonah Bowyer...

fluster meaning in Urdu and Malayalam

fluster in Urdu

بےچینی, گھبراہٹ

fluster in Malayalam

ക്ഷോഭിക്കുക, മദ്യപിച്ച് അരക്കിറുക്കാവുക, ലഹരി പിടിപ്പിക്കുക, കുഴപ്പമുണ്ടാക്കുക

Synonyms of fluster

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of fluster

Forms of fluster

Verb
third-person singular presentflusters
present participleflustering
past participleflustered
pastflustered
Noun
pluralflusters

Origin of fluster

The verb is probably from Middle English *flostren (implied in flostring, flostrynge (“agitation; blustering”)) from a Scandinavian (North Germanic) language; compare Icelandic flaustra (“to bustle”), flaustr (“a bustle; a hurry”). Compare Old English flustrian (“to weave, plait, braid”). The noun is derived from the verb.

Words formed from fluster

Words that rhyme with fluster

Questions about fluster

What does fluster mean?
Fluster means to throw (someone) into a state of confusion or panic; to befuddle, to confuse.
What is fluster in Urdu?
Fluster in Urdu is بےچینی, گھبراہٹ. See Fluster meaning in Urdu.
What part of speech is fluster?
Fluster can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce fluster?
Fluster is pronounced /ˈflʌstə/ (UK).
What is the past tense of fluster?
The past tense of fluster is flustered.

Words near fluster in the dictionary

  1. flusking
  2. flusks
  3. flusoxolol
  4. fluspiperone
  5. fluspirilene
  6. fluster
  7. flusterate
  8. flusterated
  9. flusterates
  10. flusterating
  11. flusteration

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: fluster (page history and authors); fluster (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); fluster (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-fluster.ogg.

Cite this entry: “fluster.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fluster. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.