stymie

verb sty·mie \ ˈstī-mē \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Examples: stymie in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of stymie

stymied; stymieing

transitive verb

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

stymied by red tape

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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 of stymie from the Web

The reforms have also been stymied by fierce opposition.

— The Economist, "Mexico’s crucial education reform risks being unwound," 31 May 2018
Efforts to expand Schlitterbahn into the Austin area and Florida have been stymied by lack of financing or politics.

— joshua fechter, San Antonio Express-News, "Two more Schlitterbahn employees charged in decapitation death of 10-year-old boy at Kansas park," 30 May 2018
As this growing city looks to lure Amazon.com Inc. and other corporate giants to the region, its new mayor has found her efforts stymied by scandals from the previous administration and the aftereffects of a crippling cyberattack on city operations.

— cameron mcwhirter, WSJ, "Probes, Cyberattack Distract Atlanta as It Tries to Woo Amazon," 27 May 2018
Until now, efforts by the Indian government to reduce the use of vanaspati have been stymied by food producers.

— andrew jacobs, BostonGlobe.com, "WHO campaign seeks worldwide elimination of trans fats in foods," 14 May 2018
Government also holds the purse strings for infrastructure—and e-scooter companies have been stymied by a scarcity of places to safely ride.

— aarian marshall, WIRED, "The Love of the People Isn't Enough to Keep Shared Electric Scooters Rolling," 1 May 2018
Meanwhile, Newbold wrote that Ogden's efforts to manage, repair and maintain the Rashaed properties have been stymied by Rashaed's refusal to cooperate.

— cary spivak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Court-appointed manager urges judge to fine or jail notorious landlord Rashaed for contempt," 13 Apr. 2018
Some development has been stymied by landowners who set lofty prices that developers aren’t willing to pay, Davis said.

— Chicago Tribune, "RAGE, RIOTS, RUIN," 1 Apr. 2018
The order reverses the Obama-era policy of the executive branch, long stymied by Congress, to close the prison.

— greg larose, NOLA.com, "State of the Union: The 100 words Trump used the most," 30 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stymie.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.