stonewall
To obstructTo obstruct.
» We've stonewalled them, and they've got nothing.
shekitten · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(transitive)To obstruct.
obstruct or hinder any discussion
(ambitransitive, informal)To refuse to answer or cooperate, especially in supplying information.
At the press conference, the Prime Minister appeared to be stonewalling when asked about tax increases.
abblocken, mauern
engage in delaying tactics or refuse to cooperate
Examples
4 sentencesWe've stonewalled them, and they've got nothing.
Stonewall is a gay bar.
deDas Stonewall Inn ist eine Gay-Bar. — Rovo
The trial lawyers couldn't get past the Mafia leader's stonewalling tactics.
ruАдвокаты первой инстанции не смогли пробиться через тактику блокирования главы мафии. — Hellerick
Nixon tried to stonewall through Watergate by ignoring it, but it didn't work.
deNixon versuchte Watergate durch Ignorieren auszusitzen, aber es funktionierte nicht. — samueldora
Translations
3 languagesOrigin
From Middle English stonwal, stone wall, stanewalle (“wall made of stone”), from Old EngliFrom Middle English stonwal, stone wall, stanewalle (“wall made of stone”), from Old English stānweall (“stonewall”), equivalent to stone + wall. The alcoholic drink (sense 3) was perhaps named thus because its effect was as potent as running into a stone wall.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
stonewalls, stonewalling, stonewalled, stonewalled| Base form | stonewall · to stonewall |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | stonewalls |
| Present participle | stonewalling |
| Past simple | stonewalled |
| Past participle | stonewalled |
regular · Lesson
Word family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.