Frustrate — Frus trate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Frustrated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Frustrating}.] 1. To bring to nothing; to prevent from attaining a purpose; to disappoint; to defeat; to baffle; as, to frustrate a plan, design, or attempt; to frustrate the will or… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
frustrate — frustrate, thwart, foil, baffle, balk, circumvent, outwit mean either to defeat a person attempting or hoping to achieve an end or satisfy a desire or, in some cases, to defeat another s desire. To frustrate is to make vain or ineffectual all… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
frustrate — [frus′trāt΄] vt. frustrated, frustrating [ME frustraten < L frustratus, pp. of frustrare, frustrari, to disappoint, deceive < frustra, in vain: for IE base see FRAUD] 1. to cause to have no effect; bring to nothing; counteract; nullify [to… … English World dictionary
Frustrate — Frus trate, a. [L. frustratus, p. p. of frustrare, frustrari, to deceive, frustrate, fr. frustra in vain, witout effect, in erorr, prob. for frudtra and akin to fraus, E. fraud.] Vain; ineffectual; useless; unprofitable; null; voil; nugatory; of… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
frustrate — frus·trate / frəs ˌtrāt/ vt frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing: to make invalid or ineffectual: defeat the remedial purposes of the Workers Compensation Act should not be frustrated by rigid technical standards Palmer v. Bath Iron Works Corp., 559 A.2d… … Law dictionary
frustrate — (v.) mid 15c., from L. frustratus, pp. of frustrari to deceive, disappoint, frustrate, from frustra (adv.) in vain, in error, related to fraus injury, harm (see FRAUD (Cf. fraud)). Related: Frustrated; frustrating … Etymology dictionary
frustrate — [v] thwart, disappoint annul, arrest, baffle, balk, bar, beat, block, cancel, check, circumvent, confront, conquer, counter, counteract, cramp, cramp one’s style*, crimp, dash, dash one’s hope*, defeat, depress, discourage, dishearten, foil,… … New thesaurus
frustrate */ — UK [frʌˈstreɪt] / US [ˈfrʌˌstreɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms frustrate : present tense I/you/we/they frustrate he/she/it frustrates present participle frustrating past tense frustrated past participle frustrated 1) to make someone feel annoyed … English dictionary
frustrate — I. transitive verb (frustrated; frustrating) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin frustratus, past participle of frustrare to deceive, frustrate, from frustra in error, in vain Date: 15th century 1. a. to balk or defeat in an endeavor b. to… … New Collegiate Dictionary
frustrate — frus|trate [ frʌ,streıt ] verb transitive * to make someone feel annoyed and impatient by preventing them from doing or getting something: She has always been frustrated by her inability to draw. Activists and reformers are frustrated by the… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English