stonewall

American  

[stohn-wawl] / ˈstoʊnˌwɔl /

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in stonewalling.

2. British. filibuster.

3. Cricket. (of a batsman) to play a defensive game, as by persistently blocking the ball instead of batting it for distance and runs.

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verb (used with object)

1. Informal. to block, stall, or resist intentionally.

   lobbying efforts to stonewall passage of the legislation.

2. British. to obstruct (the passage of a legislative bill) in Parliament, especially by excessive or prolonged debate.

adjective

1. pertaining to or characteristic of stonewalling.

   a new round of stonewall tactics.

stonewall British  

/ ˌstəʊnˈwɔːl /

verb

1. (intr) cricket (of a batsman) to play defensively

2. to obstruct or hinder (parliamentary business)

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Other Word Forms

• stonewaller noun

Etymology

Origin of stonewall

v. and adj. use of noun phrase stone wall

Example Sentences

Kimberly would later become a powerful champion of parents who felt stonewalled and "lied to" by the authorities.

From BBC

"At the time I thought it was a stonewall penalty," said Hourihane.

From BBC

Glassman said the decision to file a lawsuit came after Cosmo’s parents were “stonewalled” by the school’s insurance company, and they were unable to reach a resolution.

From Los Angeles Times

Her bio-father, Kwangho, meanwhile, spent five years searching for her whereabouts, being stonewalled by bureaucracy and finally finding a sympathetic insider to leak the information that led to his daughter.

From The Wall Street Journal

Both the army and the RSF have previously stonewalled negotiations brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia.

From Barron's

Related Words

• rebuff