thwart

Use thwart in a sentence

verb

The definition of thwart is to hinder or stop something from happening.

An example of thwart is when you catch your kids in the process of sneaking out.

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"thwart." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Thwart>.

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thwart. (n.d.). Retrieved May 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Thwart

thwart

lying or extending across something else; transverse; oblique
Obs. perverse

Origin of thwart

Middle English thwert from Old Norse thvert, neuter of thverr, transverse from Indo-European an unverified form terk-, to turn (prob. from an unverified form ter-, to rub with rotary motion from source throw) from source Classical Latin torquere, to twist, turn

Archaic athwart

a rower's seat extending across a boat
a brace extending across a canoe

Obs. to extend or place over or across
to hinder, obstruct, frustrate, or defeat (a person, plans, etc.)

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MLA Style

"thwart." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Thwart>.

APA Style

thwart. (n.d.). Retrieved May 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Thwart

thwart

transitive verb

thwart·ed, thwart·ing, thwarts

To prevent the occurrence, realization, or attainment of: They thwarted her plans.
To oppose and defeat the efforts, plans, or ambitions of (someone).

noun

A seat across a boat on which a rower may sit.
A transverse strut in a canoe or other small boat.

adjective

Extending, lying, or passing across; transverse.
Eager to oppose, especially wrongly; perverse.

adverb

preposition

Archaic

Athwart; across.

Origin of thwart

Middle English thwerten from thwert across from Old Norse thvert neuter of thverr transverse ; see terk^w- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

thwart′er
noun

thwart′ly
adverb

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"thwart." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Thwart>.

APA Style

thwart. (n.d.). Retrieved May 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Thwart

Verb

(third-person singular simple present thwarts, present participle thwarting, simple past and past participle thwarted)

To prevent; to halt; to cause to fail; to foil; to frustrate.
The police thwarted the would-be assassin.
Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the thunderstorm.

Noun

(plural thwarts)

(nautical) A brace, perpendicular to the keel, that helps maintain the beam (breadth) of a marine vessel against external water pressure and that may serve to support the rail.
A well made doughout canoe rarely needs a thwart.
(nautical) A seat across a boat on which a rower may sit.
The fisherman sat on the aft thwart to row.

Adjective

(comparative more thwart, superlative most thwart)

Situated or placed across something else; transverse; oblique.
(figuratively) Perverse; crossgrained.

Adverb

(not comparable)

Obliquely; transversely; athwart.

Origin

From Old Norse Ã¾vert "˜across', originally neut. of thverr (transverse, across), cognates include Old English Ã¾weorh (transverse, perverse, angry, cross), Danish tvÃ¦r, Gothic ðŒ¸ð…ðŒ°ðŒ¹ð‚ðƒ (Ã¾waÃrs, “angry"), Dutch dwars (cross-grained, contrary), German quer, from Proto-Germanic *Ã¾werhaz, altered by influence of Proto-Germanic *Ã¾weranÄ… (to turn) from Proto-Germanic *Ã¾erh-, from Proto-Indo-European *twork-/*twerk- (twist).