stonewall

American  

[stohn-wawl] / ˈstoʊnˌwɔl /

verb (used without object)

• stonewalls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stonewalled,
  past participle,  past
• stonewalling
  present participle

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.

---

verb (used with object)

• stonewalls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stonewalled,
  past participle,  past
• stonewalling
  present participle

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)

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• stonewaller
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• stonewalling
  present
• stonewalled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stonewall
  simple
• stonewalls
  simple
• have stonewalled
  perfect
• has stonewalled
  perfect
• am stonewalling
  progressive
• are stonewalling
  progressive
• is stonewalling
  progressive
• have been stonewalling
  perfect progressive
• has been stonewalling
  perfect progressive

Past

• stonewalled
  simple
• had stonewalled
  perfect
• was stonewalling
  progressive
• were stonewalling
  progressive
• had been stonewalling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stonewall
  simple
• will have stonewalled
  perfect
• will be stonewalling
  progressive
• will have been stonewalling
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of stonewall

v. and adj. use of noun phrase stone wall

---

Explanation

To stonewall is to deliberately hold something up or delay it, especially by refusing to cooperate or answer questions. A big company might stonewall when its workers try to negotiate for higher pay — and your parents might stonewall when you try to negotiate for a higher allowance. A press secretary stonewalls when she avoids directly answering a reporter's pointed questions, and you stonewall when you change the subject rather than commit to visiting your grandma. The word stonewall was coined as a nickname for Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson, who was described as "standing like a stone wall" as the enemy approached. It was originally a noun, meaning "an act of obstruction."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stonewall stonewalls stonewalled stonewalling

"If we do not do something because we are scared of the optics, or we don't think it will be successful, or they stonewall us, that will be bad," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

The administration’s attempt to stonewall Alcaraz’s family comes as no surprise.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that seeks to stonewall the project.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025

“An avoidant person often doesn’t know when their nervous system is ignited,” says Abito, so they need to figure out their triggers and what happens in their body before they stonewall and shut down.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2023

Several were sitting back on their haunches, their claws scraping at the chalky stonewall that flanked the waterfall.

From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins

And then, when Tim stonewalls him about stealing a gun, Gaitok doesn’t respond with the obvious “dude, there’s video.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2025

Not when Lawson blows past Becton, and not when Becton stonewalls Lawson.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 1, 2021

By late April 1973, however, the stonewalls were crumbling.

From New York Times ● Jun. 27, 2017

Storytelling, jokes and stonewalls make this section feel like Ireland, not ancient Greece.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 19, 2017

I look beneath the stonewalls, where the verdure is richest, in hopes that a little company of violets, or some solitary bud, prophetic of the summer, may be there.

From Passages from the American Notebooks, Volume 2. by Nathaniel Hawthorne

After being stonewalled by automated model guardrails, the Citrini team reached out to Anthropic.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

Most schools either didn’t respond, stonewalled the request or demanded excessive fees to process the request.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The sheriff, Bonta said, “has delayed, stonewalled, and otherwise refused to work with us in good faith” and failed to provide most of the requested documents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2026

Murphy, who sits in Massachusetts, did not merely rule against the policy; he also documented the many ways that government officials lied, stonewalled, and disobeyed court orders throughout the litigation.

From Slate ● Feb. 28, 2026

Amber Carson is the woman who stonewalled Alicia on the phone about two and half hours ago.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

The team also struggles with stonewalling from social media sites and chronic shortages of staff and funds.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

The Madison Collection had been stonewalling these efforts for months, according to the lawsuit, refusing to turn over books and bank accounts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

After stonewalling every adult who tells him to open up, Robby does just that with an orphaned infant, saying that he, too, was abandoned by his mother as a child.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

Strike action is not currently a plausible option, but while the Slams feel they are listening and engaging, the players think they are stonewalling - and will consider their next move after the Australian Open.

From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026

“In a word, yes. I’m guessing now, but I think she believes that Branwell is stonewalling, that his silence is just a stubborn refusal to talk about what happened.”

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• rebuff

---