FLUSTERING Synonyms: 60 Similar and Opposite Words

flustering 1 of 2

adjective

as in embarrassing

causing embarrassment a flustering situation that left us all silent

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

flustering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of fluster

as in confusing

to throw into a state of self-conscious distress was flustered when her parents dragged out her baby pictures for her new boyfriend

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of flustering

Verb

The Pistons’ defense is swarming and flustering the Cavs. — Zach Harper, New York Times, 8 May 2026 But Seymour threw on a press, flustering the Patriots, who began to turn the ball over. — Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, 22 Mar. 2026 In the first half the Horned Frogs were successful in flustering the freshman. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flustering

Adjective

Not merely due to sympathy for the tweens, nor from projecting some future time when the unerasable archive of this yearning might prove embarrassing.

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
Celtic exited this season’s Champions League in August after an embarrassing 5-1 thrashing by LASK in Austria, losing the tie 5-4 on aggregate having been 4-0 ahead at one stage.

— Michael Walker, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of embarrassing

Verb

Bill Belichick has made a Hall of Fame career on confusing young quarterbacks.

— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
The crowd even includes Sam, who has a fun moment catching up with Roy and confusing him with an observation that sounds like it was inspired by The Wizard of Oz.

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of confusing

Adjective

The latest unit retains the same first six forward ratios as the outgoing Carrera T’s manual transmission, but ditches its predecessor’s somewhat awkward and largely superfluous seventh gear.

— Bradley Iger, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2026
Unsurprisingly, writers have developed a myriad of strategies and tricks to push through this awkward stage.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of awkward

Verb

The production is a rattling junk drawer of circuit-bent thrift-store keyboards, dusty drum machines, and unintuitive loops, and KTO combines them into head-scratching, shouldn’t-work grooves.

— Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
The trunk-rattling track oozes bold proclamations about bag chasing, love at first sight, and cruising past his adversaries.

— Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of rattling

Adjective

This defense needs to find a way to make quarterbacks uncomfortable without becoming blitz crazy, and that means Chop Robinson, Josh Uche and Malik Herring must step up and win more of their 1-on-1 assignments.

— Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2026
The dispute raised uncomfortable questions about the limits of political expression on a concert stage — questions Sheeran did not directly address Saturday night.

— Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of uncomfortable

Verb

Rates of autism are rising to previously unseen levels, owing largely to better detection and new diagnostic criteria, but the numbers are still disconcerting.

— Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
It is filled with off-putting, perhaps even disconcerting antics, and teams don't want to add that to their locker room.

— Armando Salguero, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of disconcerting

Adjective

From a computational perspective, Friston argues, attempting to reduce uncertainty—basically, working to avoid unpleasant surprises—is the brain’s primary goal.

— Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Adapted by Duffield and Daniel Kraus from Kraus’ 2023 novel, this spectacularly unpleasant underwater adventure delivers on its premise with effects that are graphic, fascinating, and occasionally beautiful.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of unpleasant

Adjective

The problem, Snegovaya said, is that achieving military autonomy for Europe and Ukraine is extremely difficult in the short term, and Europe has been slow to develop the necessary capabilities.

— Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026
Past changes have pushed the glacier into a retreat that may be difficult to reverse, while new modeling suggests scientists may have underestimated how warm seawater reaches beneath it.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of difficult

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flustered

flustering

flusters

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“Flustering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flustering. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of flustering

adjective

verb

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