stymie

American  

[stahy-mee] / ˈstaɪ mi /

Sometimes stymy

verb (used with object)

stymied, stymieing

1. to hinder, block, or thwart.

   Synonyms:

   confound, stump, frustrate, perplex

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noun

1. a situation or problem presenting such difficulties as to discourage or defeat any attempt to deal with or resolve it.

2. Golf. (on a putting green) an instance of a ball's lying on a direct line between the cup and the ball of an opponent about to putt.

stymie British  

/ ˈstaɪmɪ /

verb

1. to hinder or thwart

2. golf to impede with a stymie

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noun

1. golf (formerly) a situation on the green in which an opponent's ball is blocking the line between the hole and the ball about to be played: an obstructing ball may now be lifted and replaced by a marker

2. a situation of obstruction

Etymology

Origin of stymie

First recorded in 1855–60; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

The prison through which he is escorted is a maze of many gates, rusted metal barriers to movement that echo, with every thud and clank, the stymied processes of Soviet justice.

From The Wall Street Journal

Since the White House’s first steps to implement the ban, “capital flow has been stymied, to say the least,” said Invitation Homes CEO Dallas Tanner at a conference earlier this month.

From Barron's

The partial shutdown has stymied operations of the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other DHS agencies.

From Salon

The measure was widely decried by many in tech, who warned it would unleash patchwork regulation that would stymie AI development.

From The Wall Street Journal

I foresee this trend will only gain steam as U.S. interest rate cuts, foreign investment, deregulation and GDP growth breathe new life into sectors that have been undervalued or even stymied in recent years.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• choke off
• crimp
• foil
• impede
• obstruct
• stall
• stonewall
• thwart