stymie

verb

sty·mie ˈstī-mē

stymied; stymieing

Synonyms of stymie next

transitive verb

: to present an obstacle to : stand in the way of

stymied by red tape

Did you know?

Golf was being played in Scotland as early as the 15th century, but it wasn't until the 19th century that the sport really caught on in England and North America. It was also in the 19th century that the word stymie entered English as a noun referring to a golfing situation in which one player's ball lies between another ball and the hole on the putting green, thereby blocking the line of play. Later, stymie came to be used as a verb meaning "to bring into the position of, or impede by, a stymie." By the early 20th century, the verb was being applied in similarly vexing non-golf contexts.

Examples of stymie in a Sentence

Progress on the project has been stymied by lack of money. the raging blizzard stymied the rescuers' attempts to find the stranded mountain climbers

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The environment The travel industry will also be closely watching what impact the Trump Administration and a Republican Congress will have on environmental protections, including programs to advance the use of sustainable aviation fuel and regulations that have stymied infrastructure improvements. —

Jeri Clausing, AFAR Media, 16 Jan. 2025 Regional leaders like South Africa have sent envoys to try to broker a resolution to a political deadlock that has stymied trade and threatens further economic damage. —

Tavares Cebola, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025 But groups that want to clean up the sites have been stymied by environmental protection laws that required them to take on so much legal liability that the risk outweighed the benefit. —

Elise Schmelzer, The Denver Post, 4 Jan. 2025 He’s sent flying off his bicycle by a cop, part of the predictably crooked department that stymies Terry’s attempts to work within the town’s labyrinthine legal system. —

Vox Staff, Vox, 23 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for stymie