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
-
passing or lying crosswise or across; cross; transverse.
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perverse; obstinate.
-
adverse; unfavorable.
preposition
verb
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to oppose successfully or prevent; frustrate
they thwarted the plan
-
obsolete to be or move across
noun
adjective
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passing or being situated across
-
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
-
am thwartingprogressive
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are thwartingprogressive
-
is thwartingprogressive
-
have been thwartingperfect progressive
-
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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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:
A series of economic shocks outside out control could thwart plans to turbo-boost prosperity .
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Thursday aims to thwart such plots and save literature for the next generation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
In an effort to thwart fraud, the Social Security Administration said it has fixed millions of records and is working on correcting millions more.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Proponents of H-1B note that Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies are founded or run by immigrants, and the efforts to thwart H-1B have already started stifling talent flow and startup creation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
The night after the gale ended, Shackleton was at the tiller, crouched in a half-standing, half-sitting position against the thwart with his back hunched against the cold.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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
“The Challenge” injects randomness and chaos into the mix that thwarts the most studious strategists, mainly by throwing people for a loop by changing up certain games and tossing psychological tests into its pressure cooker.
From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2023
And while most of us will want to tell ourselves that murderers are different from the rest of us, a woman like Montgomery — so personable, so ladylike — thwarts that disidentification.
From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
He starts to get up, but Sandy quickly thwarts his effort, ushering for me to follow her into the kitchen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2022
The driver went to the rear of the truck, opened it, and pulled out a sixteen-foot Kevlar canoe, with paddles taped to the thwarts.
From "The River" by Gary Paulsen
Our stories of justice, from murder mysteries to tales of thwarted romance, invariably climax not with revelation but with confession.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Those plans were thwarted by the car’s warning message.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Torrential rain meant everyone got cold and wet, particularly the protesters but the road remained blocked and the parade was thwarted.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Their efforts were thwarted by Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, who rejected the petition right at the deadline, hours before the state’s primary election last month.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
This vision was thwarted by the Japanese occupation.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
But the law keeps thwarting them, and the Hutchinson case could become the latest example.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
Lockheed has another megadeal for missiles on order with the U.S. government—a preliminary $35 billion multiyear contract for Thaad interceptors, a larger munition also capable of thwarting ballistic missiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Mostly, Julian and Lori take turns thwarting his obnoxious kids and threatening to quit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Treasury yields snapped higher Tuesday, breaking a six-week trading range and thwarting the bond market’s traditional role as a haven in times of stock market volatility.
From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026
You have aided in thwarting me; now you shall come to my call.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
