thwart

[thwawrt] /θwɔrt/
verb (used with object)
1.
to oppose successfully; prevent from accomplishing a purpose.
2.
to frustrate or baffle (a plan, purpose, etc.).
3.
Archaic.
  1. to cross.
  2. to extend across.
noun
4.
a seat across a boat, especially one used by a rower.
5.
a transverse member spreading the gunwales of a canoe or the like.
adjective
6.
passing or lying crosswise or across; cross; transverse.
7.
perverse; obstinate.
8.
adverse; unfavorable.
preposition, adverb
9.
across; athwart.
Origin
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
Related forms
thwartedly, adverb
thwarter, noun
unthwarted, adjective
unthwarting, adjective
Synonyms
1. 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.
Examples from the web for thwart
  • Working to thwart departments is working against yourself.
  • But nitrous oxide emissions, which are being released at a rate of about ten million tons a year, may thwart that progress.
  • And to use them to thwart whatever comets the divine creator may see fit to throw at us.
  • There is one more similarity among the components of the firewall: they are all easy to thwart.
  • If they tried to expand their exports, they would thwart each other, driving down the price of their commodities.
  • The service is paid for by pharmaceutical companies that want to thwart the counterfeiters.
  • Today, factions simply maintain their power to thwart.
  • Lawsuits will thwart blatant knock-offs in rich countries.
  • Organizers miss an opportunity to really thwart the spooks.
  • It is designed to heighten individual autonomy and thwart centralization.
British Dictionary definitions for thwart

thwart

/θwɔːt/
verb
1.
to oppose successfully or prevent; frustrate: they thwarted the plan
2.
(obsolete) to be or move across
noun
3.
(nautical) a seat lying across a boat and occupied by an oarsman
adjective
4.
passing or being situated across
5.
(archaic) perverse or stubborn
preposition, adverb
6.
(obsolete) across
Derived Forms
thwartedly, adverb
thwarter, noun
Word Origin
C13: from Old Norse thvert, from thverr transverse; related to Old English thweorh crooked, Old High German twerh transverse
Word Origin and History for 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").

v.

"oppose, hinder," mid-13c., from thwart (adv.). Related: Thwarted; thwarting.