stymie
Americanverb (used with object)
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stymies,
present (3rd person singular)
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stymied,
past participle, past
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stymieing
present participle
noun
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a situation or problem presenting such difficulties as to discourage or defeat any attempt to deal with or resolve it.
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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.
verb
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to hinder or thwart
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golf to impede with a stymie
noun
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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
-
a situation of obstruction
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stymiesimple
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stymiessimple
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have stymiedperfect
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has stymiedperfect
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am stymieingprogressive
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are stymieingprogressive
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is stymieingprogressive
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have been stymieingperfect progressive
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has been stymieingperfect progressive
Past
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stymiedsimple
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had stymiedperfect
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was stymieingprogressive
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were stymieingprogressive
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had been stymieingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stymie
First recorded in 1855–60; origin uncertain
Explanation
The verb stymie means "to obstruct or hinder." Constantly texting with your friends will stymie your effort to finish your homework. Stymie was first used on the golf course in Scotland, where it referred to an opponent's ball blocking your own ball’s path to the cup. From there a verb sense developed, until finally stymie came to mean blocking with any obstacle, not just a golf ball.
Vocabulary lists containing stymie
Hatchet
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This Week in Words: February 16 - 22, 2019
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But would they be able to if there is validity in their current claim that plenty of institutions are trying to stymie them?
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
In Port Washington north of Milwaukee, where a new data center is being built, voters approved a ballot question that could stymie future projects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
It was supposed to improve information-sharing, not stymie it.
From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2026
Officials have not yet released the identities of any victims, and extreme weather in the area has continued to stymie efforts to search for the missing body, or even to retrieve those already confirmed dead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
In Winter when the lies are slimy Be up or in, or lay a stymie.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, March 4th 1914 by Various
There is a degree of obscurantism in all this, as Mr. Kracht’s bizarre book willfully stymies understanding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
She said: “This is a disappointing and flawed approach that stymies crucial efforts to free Jimmy Lai and fundamentally undermines the government’s official position that he must be released.”
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2024
“We need to be able to break the gridlock that too often stymies progress and blocks consensus at the council.”
From Washington Times ● Sep. 21, 2023
"Include me in that category, if it's unnecessary and inappropriate regulation that stymies innovation and technology advancements," Bucshon said.
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2023
We suspect them of stymies, for only the weight of tradition has held the stymie to us still, and for its power this tradition must be far extended.
From The Happy Golfer Being Some Experiences, Reflections, and a Few Deductions of a Wandering Golfer by Henry Leach
One researcher investigating AI’s effects on children has expressed concerns of “cognitive stunting” — critical thinking skills prohibited from developing, just as physical growth can be stymied by malnutrition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
They can be stymied by the wind and tides.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Potential scientific breakthroughs could be stymied: in medicine, agriculture and even climate change adaptation.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
When retirees arrive at this place where they have everything mapped out and now it’s time to just work the plan, they can get stymied.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
As it happens, Feldmans accidental study provides a window onto a form of cheating that has long stymied academics: white- collar crime.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
They were so afraid of running out of money that it was stymieing their ability to enjoy today.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
But industrial output in Europe’s largest economy fell 1.2% in March, stymieing hopes for a recovery any time soon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
But their robustness means “everybody’s already got their mustang,” she said, stymieing the prospect of mass adoptions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
Second, at all levels of government, we must loosen regulations that are stymieing the construction and preservation of affordable homes.
From Slate ● Feb. 17, 2025
The companies also complained that bureaucratic delays are stymieing their operations.
From Reuters ● Jan. 6, 2023
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
