What does "thwart" mean?
Thwart: Fig.: Perverse; crossgrained. [Obs.] Shak.
Additional senses
- 2.Thwartly; obliquely; transversely; athwart. [Obs.] Milton.
- 3.Across; athwart. Spenser. Thwart ships. See Athwart ships, under Athwart.
- 4.A seat in an open boat reaching from one side to the other, or athwart the boat.
- 5.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.
- 6.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.
- 7.To move or go in an oblique or crosswise manner. [R.]
- 8.Hence, to be in opposition; to clash. [R.] Any proposition . . . that shall at all thwart with internal oracles. Locke.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00