A variant or intensive form of fluster, meaning to fluster severely or to confuse greatly.
From 'fluster' with the addition of the suffix '-ate,' creating a more formal or intensified verb form. This represents a productive pattern in English where verbs can be intensified through suffixation, though 'flusterate' remains informal or dialectal.
English speakers naturally create intensified verbs by adding '-ate' to existing words—think 'caffeinate' or 'decimate.' 'Flusterate' shows this pattern at work, though it never became standard because 'fluster' was already emphatic enough on its own.
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