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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.
Synonyms
Examples of stymie in a Sentence
Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 June 2024
For decades after its passage, Article 34 stymied the construction of low-income housing in California and continues to add to its cost and uncertainty.
—Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024
The talks were stymied by a central sticking point: Hamas demands guarantees that the war will end and Israeli troops will withdraw from Gaza completely in return for a release of all the hostages, a demand Israel rejects.
—Aamer Madhani, Chris Megerian, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 June 2024
But reluctance on the part of farmers to cooperate with investigations has stymied efforts to gauge how far the virus has spread and how many people may have been infected.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for stymie 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stymie.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Stymie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stymie. Accessed 11 Jun. 2024.
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stymie
verb
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