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
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have thwartedperfect
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has thwartedperfect
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am thwartingprogressive
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are thwartingprogressive
-
is thwartingprogressive
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have been thwartingperfect progressive
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has been thwartingperfect progressive
Past
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thwartedsimple
-
had thwartedperfect
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was thwartingprogressive
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were thwartingprogressive
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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:
The article—by reporters Jonathan Swan, Adam Entous, and Maggie Haberman—adds that those commanders are alarmed by how much the war has depleted U.S. weapons stockpiles, including long-range missiles and interceptors to thwart air attacks.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
"Constraining LLM development under a misunderstanding of fair use doctrine would thwart such creative and scientific progress while hindering American prosperity and economic mobility," the document read.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
An outbreak of digital attacks on U.S. water plants is stoking fears across party lines that budget cuts at the federal government’s primary cybersecurity agency could leave the nation ill-equipped to thwart global hackers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
The Writers Guild of America has brought its own lawsuit to thwart the deal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
To this perpetual accusation Elizabeth had never replied; she merely regarded her aunt with a wide-eyed, insolent stare, meant at once to register her disdain and to thwart any pretext for punishment.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
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
That not only thwarts the aspirations of students and their families, but it also adds costs for the state and federal taxpayers who subsidize their educations.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 6, 2023
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
The men took turns hacking ice off the thwarts and bows, and bailing to keep the small boats from foundering.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
The thwarted mutiny also highlights something the ruling junta may not want to admit - just how dependent on Moscow it has become for security.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Even though most fake accounts are thwarted quickly, it’s become a bigger job.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
ProPublica, a nonprofit news outlet, said federal prosecutors in Minnesota had sought to file civil rights charges against Castro over the shooting but were thwarted by leaders of the Department of Justice in Washington.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
I was infatuated with the movie for honoring the thwarted relationships that make us who we are, even though they don’t make it down the aisle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 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
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
Regional power Nigeria assisted in thwarting the mutiny, saying its fighter jets had helped "dislodge the coup plotters from the National TV and a military camp" following a request from Benin's government.
From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025
Those experiments showed they could turn unresponsive cancers into responsive ones, thwarting tumor growth.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2025
As it is, you are thwarting yourself and your mentality.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
