thwart
[thwawrt]
- to oppose successfully; prevent from accomplishing a purpose.
- to frustrate or baffle (a plan, purpose, etc.).
- Archaic.
- to cross.
- to extend across.
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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.
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- passing or lying crosswise or across; cross; transverse.
- perverse; obstinate.
- adverse; unfavorable.
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- across; athwart.
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Origin of thwart
1200–50; Middle English thwert (adv.) < Old Norse thvert across, neuter of thverr transverse; cognate with Old English thweorh crooked, cross, Gothic thwairhs cross, angry
Synonyms
See more synonyms for thwart on Thesaurus.com1. hinder, obstruct. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for thwarting
Contemporary Examples
Prince said that despite $80 billion a year in spending, U.S. intelligence had nothing to do with thwarting the Nigerian national.
Military men defended the repression as key to thwarting the communist threat.
The outside world has achieved remarkable success delaying and thwarting the Iranian nuclear program.
Romney said current trade restrictions are thwarting economic growth in developing nations as well as in the United States.
Mitt Romney Speaks at Clinton Global Initiative, Hopes for Clinton “Bounce”Allison Yarrow
September 25, 2012
The prison lobby ensures this does not happen by thwarting nearly every reform that could result in fewer people behind bars.
Historical Examples
She has been thwarting me for the last hour about everything I want to do.
The Imaginary InvalidMolire
We're not thwarting Lieutenant Ferry's plan, we're only improving upon it.
The CavalierGeorge Washington Cable
“Sir Peter has great faith in annoying and thwarting me,” she went on.
The First ViolinJessie Fothergill
I have been thwarting, deceiving, and betraying you—from conviction.'
A Set of SixJoseph Conrad
They hate me now because I have been instrumental in thwarting them.
KilgormanTalbot Baines Reed
thwart
- to oppose successfully or prevent; frustratethey thwarted the plan
- obsolete to be or move across
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- nautical a seat lying across a boat and occupied by an oarsman
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- passing or being situated across
- archaic perverse or stubborn
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- obsolete across
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Word Origin
C13: from Old Norse thvert, from thverr transverse; related to Old English thweorh crooked, Old High German twerh transverse
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for thwarting
thwart
adv.
c.1200, from Old Norse þvert "across," originally neuter of thverr (adj.) "transverse, across," cognate with Old English þweorh "transverse, perverse, angry, cross," from Proto-Germanic *thwerkhaz (cf. Middle Dutch dwers, Dutch dwars "cross-grained, contrary," Old High German twerh, German quer, Gothic þwairhs "angry"), altered (by influence of *thwer- "to turn") from *therkh-, from PIE *twork-/*twerk- "twist" (cf. Latin torquere "to twist," Sanskrit tarkuh "spindle," Old Church Slavonic traku "band, girdle," Old High German drahsil "turner," German drechseln "to turn on a lathe").
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thwart
v.
"oppose, hinder," mid-13c., from thwart (adv.). Related: Thwarted; thwarting.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper