Skip to learning

YOUR VOCABULARY, ONE WORD AT A TIME

thwart

Verb

IPA /θwɔːt/

Understand it. Say it. Use it.

UNDERSTAND THE WORD

Meaning in plain English

To stop someone from achieving a plan or intended action.

SAY IT ALOUD

Pronunciation

thwart/θwɔːt/

PICTURE THE IDEA

See the meaning

Follow the idea
  1. A plan to paint the fence

  2. Heavy rain begins

  3. The plan cannot go ahead

The rain can thwart the plan by preventing its completion.

SEE IT IN EVERYDAY ENGLISH

Examples in context

Read the examples aloud. Notice how the word fits the sentence, then think of a situation of your own.

  1. Heavy rain thwarted our plan to paint the fence.
  2. A broken printer thwarted their attempt to finish the posters before lunch.

MAKE IT STICK

Quick word quiz

Try the question without looking back, then write a sentence of your own. You can retry as often as you like.

Can you recall the word?

Which word from this lesson matches this meaning?

To stop someone from achieving a plan or intended action.
Show the answer

thwart — To stop someone from achieving a plan or intended action.

Try your own sentence (optional)

Make it yours

Write one sentence using “thwart” about your own life.

Check your sentence

Does your sentence match this meaning?

To stop someone from achieving a plan or intended action.

Compare: Heavy rain thwarted our plan to paint the fence.

Check the spelling and how the word fits the sentence. Your example can be different.

Self-review only. Your sentence is not automatically marked, saved or submitted.

This quiz is for practice. To save lesson completion on this device, complete the checks in the app.

Word origin

From Middle English and Old Norse forms associated with being across or opposed.

Did you know?

Thwart often takes plans, attempts or ambitions as its object.

Explore related words

Open a word’s lesson when available, or explore entries that use the related term.

Make the word your own

  1. Say the word aloud and read an example sentence.
  2. Write a new sentence about something familiar to you.
  3. Cover the meaning and try explaining the word in your own words.

Continue with the app’s practice check, then try a sentence of your own to mark this word complete.

Practise this word in the app

Completion and saved words stay in this browser on this device.

Share this word

Save the image or share a link to this word.

@englishskillstudio

thwart

/θwɔːt/ (Verb)

“Fairly formal. You can thwart a person or thwart their attempt to do something.”

englishskillstudio.com