thwart
Americanverb (used with object)
-
thwarts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
thwarted,
past participle, past
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thwarting
present participle
noun
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thwarts
plural
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a seat across a boat, especially one used by a rower.
-
a transverse member spreading the gunwales of a canoe or the like.
adjective
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passing or lying crosswise or across; cross; transverse.
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perverse; obstinate.
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adverse; unfavorable.
preposition
verb
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to oppose successfully or prevent; frustrate
they thwarted the plan
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obsolete to be or move across
noun
adjective
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passing or being situated across
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archaic perverse or stubborn
preposition
Synonym Usage
Thwart, frustrate, baffle imply preventing one, more or less completely, from accomplishing a purpose. Thwart and frustrate apply to purposes, actions, plans, etc., baffle, to the psychological state of the person thwarted. Thwart suggests stopping one by opposing, blocking, or in some way running counter to one's efforts. Frustrate implies rendering all attempts or efforts useless or ineffectual, so that nothing ever comes of them. Baffle suggests causing defeat by confusing, puzzling, or perplexing, so that a situation seems too hard a problem to understand or solve.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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thwartsimple
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thwartssimple
-
have thwartedperfect
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has thwartedperfect
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am thwartingprogressive
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are thwartingprogressive
-
is thwartingprogressive
-
have been thwartingperfect progressive
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has been thwartingperfect progressive
Past
-
thwartedsimple
-
had thwartedperfect
-
was thwartingprogressive
-
were thwartingprogressive
-
had been thwartingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of thwart
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English thwert (adverb), from Old Norse thvert “across,” neuter of thverr “transverse”; cognate with Old English thweorh “crooked, cross,” Gothic thwairhs “cross, angry”
Explanation
A villain's worst nightmare is the superhero who always seems to thwart his efforts, preventing him from carrying out his plans to take over the world. Thwart is a word you'll hear in a lot of action movies, and usually it's the hero who is trying to thwart the evil plan of some super-villain. Yet even mere mortals can be thwarted in their efforts; the word simply means to prevent someone from carrying out his or her plans. An aggressive driver can thwart your attempt to snag a parking space at a crowded mall by pulling into the space before you. An aggressive shopper at that same mall can thwart your efforts to buy the last Dancing Snoopy doll by grabbing it off the shelf first.
Vocabulary lists containing thwart
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Animal Farm
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Romeo and Juliet
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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:
"Security forces are operating in the Qalandia camp area in order to thwart terror and apprehend wanted individuals," a military official told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
The group’s open letter calls on Bonta to take action to thwart the Ellison expansion effort.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
But the administration has taken a variety of steps to thwart Congress’ directives.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026
CME Group sued the top U.S. derivatives regulator Thursday to thwart Kalshi, an upstart prediction-markets platform, from encroaching on its turf as the nation’s leading futures exchange.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Blackberry was fidgeting on and off the thwart, strung up, able to feel only too clearly all that Hazel felt himself.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
Wendy thwarts that in accordance with the third trope: the hero returning to save someone weaker than she is.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2025
It brings to mind this concept of malicious compliance, where you’re technically doing what you’re supposed to, but in a way that actually thwarts the goals of the powers that be.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2025
Fans have repeatedly told him how they can relate — to Lilo’s frustration over feeling misunderstood, to Nani’s determination in spite of a world that continually thwarts her good intentions, even to Stitch’s rebellious nature.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2022
However, the long and complex labor that makes the dough elastic thwarts most of those who try.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2022
Sometimes she’d be going on very intensely then come to a sudden stop with something like: “What is it? What is it? What can it be that thwarts us?”
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
She recruited more women, eliminated a previous gender pay gap and proposed daycare centers at the company’s main sites—an idea thwarted by security concerns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Horror fans waiting for jump scares will be thwarted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
But Archer thwarted their plan, as Brook turned back to his strike bowler to make an impact with the game in the balance.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
But his bravura weakened as the conversation continued, and he spoke of his lost dream of being a surgeon, thwarted because his family could not afford school fees.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
They prepared to send a report to the mainland, only to be thwarted by the presence of Mr. Curtain on the plaza.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
"As her book's title suggests, it turns out Hill was quite busy behind the doors of justice, thwarting the integrity of the justice system she was sworn to protect and uphold," the justices wrote.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
Golden Dome is a closely watched project for thwarting airborne attacks on the U.S. and its territories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
The midfielder might have added a fourth late on but Levante goalkeeper Mathew Ryan denied him with an excellent reflex save, after first thwarting Raphinha.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
Those experiments showed they could turn unresponsive cancers into responsive ones, thwarting tumor growth.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2025
You have aided in thwarting me; now you shall come to my call.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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.
