stymie

Plural: stymies

Noun

a situation in golf where an opponent's ball blocks the line between your ball and the hole
a thwarting and distressing situation
A situation where an opponent's ball is directly in the way of one's own ball and the hole, on the putting green (abolished 1952).
An obstacle or obstruction.

Verb

Verb Forms: stymied, stymieing, stymies

To prevent or hinder the progress of; to thwart.
hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of
To thwart or stump; to cause to fail or to leave hopelessly puzzled, confused, or stuck.
To bring into the position of, or impede by, a stymie.

Examples

His opponent’s excellent blocking play managed to stymie his best Scrabble strategy.
If writing dates has you stymied at times, it is probably for one of two reasons. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-dates/
They had lost the key, and the lock stymied the first three locksmiths they called.

Origin / Etymology

From the meaning in golf (where the stymie ball blocks the other ball from "seeing" the hole), perhaps from Scots stymie, stimie (“person with poor eyesight”), from Scots stime (“the least bit”). Or from Scots styme (“tiny bit, glimmer”) as in se nocht ane styme (“not to see a glimmer (of something)”). If so, it is a doublet of stime.

Synonyms

block, blockade, embarrass, hinder, obstruct, stymy, thwart

Scrabble Score: 11

stymie: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
stymie: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
stymie: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

stymie: valid Words With Friends Word