frustration

Pronunciation

• IPA: /frʌsˈtreɪ.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin frūstrātiō (“a deception, a disappointment”),^[2][3][4] a noun from frūstrārī, to deceive, disappoint, make vain (see frustrate),^[2][4] from frūstrā, in vain, related to fraus, harm (see fraud).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of frustrating, disappointment, defeat: about 1555 in the OED and Merriam-Webster, the 1550s in Etymonline.^[5][3][2] Middle English had it earlier in an obsolete sense, nullification (mid-15th century).^[2]

Semantic evolution

The state of being frustrated, a feeling of annoyance at being blocked, became the main modern sense.^[6][7] In psychology, frustration is both the blocking of a satisfying activity and the emotional reaction to it, which may involve aggression.^[7]

Timeline

• mid-15th century – nullification (obsolete).^[2]
• c. 1555 – disappointment, defeat.^[5][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The feeling of being upset or annoyed at being unable to do or achieve something.
2. The act of frustrating, or something that frustrates.
3. (psychology) The blocking of a satisfying activity, or the emotional reaction to it.

Word family

• nonfrustration

Related words

• frustrate
• fraud

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins