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THWART
thwart, cross thwart
(noun) a crosspiece spreading the gunnels of a boat; used as a seat in a rowboat
thwart, queer, spoil, scotch, foil, cross, frustrate, baffle, bilk
(verb) hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; “What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth’s amazing September surge”; “foil your opponent”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
thwart (comparative more thwart, superlative most thwart)
Placed or situated across something else; cross, oblique, transverse.
(figuratively, dated) Of people: having a tendency to oppose; obstinate, perverse, stubborn.
Synonyms: cross-grained, froward, Thesaurus:obstinate
(figuratively, dated) Of situations or things: adverse, unfavourable, unlucky.
Synonyms: unpropitious, untoward, Thesaurus:unlucky
Adverb
thwart (not comparable)
(obsolete) Across the direction of travel or length of; athwart, crosswise, obliquely, transversely.
Preposition
thwart
(archaic or poetic) Across, athwart.
Verb
thwart (third-person singular simple present thwarts, present participle thwarting, simple past and past participle thwarted)
(transitive) To cause to fail; to frustrate, to prevent.
Synonyms: balk, foil, spoil
Antonym: promote
(transitive, obsolete) To place (something) across (another thing); to position crosswise.
(transitive, also, figuratively, obsolete) To hinder or obstruct by placing (something) in the way of; to block, to impede, to oppose.
Synonym: Thesaurus:hinder
(ambitransitive, obsolete) To move (something) across or counter to; to cross.
Noun
thwart (plural thwarts)
(nautical) A seat across a boat on which a rower may sit.
Synonyms: thaught, thawt, thoft (Britain, dialectal)
(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.
(rare) An act of thwarting; something which thwarts; a hindrance, an obstacle.
Source: Wiktionary
Thwart, a. Etym: [OE. , , a. and adv., Icel. , neut. of athwart, transverse, across; akin to AS. perverse, transverse, cross, D. dwars, OHG. dwerah, twerh, G. zwerch, quer, Dan. & Sw. tver athwart, transverse, Sw. tvär cross, unfriendly, Goth. angry. Cf. Queer.]
1. Situated or placed across something else; transverse; oblique. Moved contrary with thwart obliquities. Milton.
2. Fig.: Perverse; crossgrained. [Obs.] Shak.
Thwart, adv. Etym: [See Thwart, a.]
Definition: Thwartly; obliquely; transversely; athwart. [Obs.] Milton.
Thwart, prep.
Definition: Across; athwart. Spenser. Thwart ships. See Athwart ships, under Athwart.
Thwart, n. (Naut.)
Definition: A seat in an open boat reaching from one side to the other, or athwart the boat.
Thwart, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Thwarted; p. pr. & vb. n. Thwarting.]
1. To move across or counter to; to cross; as, an arrow thwarts the air. [Obs.] Swift as a shooting star In autumn thwarts the night. Milton.
2. To cross, as a purpose; to oppose; to run counter to; to contravene; hence, to frustrate or defeat. If crooked fortune had not thwarted me. Shak. The proposals of the one never thwarted the inclinations of the other. South.
Thwart, v. i.
1. To move or go in an oblique or crosswise manner. [R.]
2. Hence, to be in opposition; to clash. [R.] Any proposition . . . that shall at all thwart with internal oracles. Locke.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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