Stimying

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Preventing or hindering progress or development; obstructing or blocking an action or process; causing difficulty in achieving a goal
2. Acting to impede or slow down progress deliberately; creating barriers or obstacles that frustrate attempts to move forward; interfering with normal advancement
3. Serving to hold back or restrain efforts; causing obstruction or confusion that delays or stops intended outcomes; thwarting effective progress in any activity

Etymology: "Stimying" is the present participle of "stimy," a verb whose origin lies in a golfing rule. The sport's early rules, drawn up in Scotland, treated a ball lying in the path of an opponent's ball, so close that it blocked a direct shot to the hole, as a legitimate obstacle that the other player had to play around or over. That situation was called a "stymie," and the verb grew out of it to mean blocking or obstructing someone's progress. The noun appeared first, and the verb followed from it, so a golfer who had been "stymied" was one whose path had been blocked by a rival's ball. Over time the golf sense faded and the word spread into general use, where it now describes any obstacle that thwarts a plan, whether that obstacle is a person, a rule, or simply bad luck.

Synonyms: blocking, hindering, impeding

Antonyms: helping, aiding, assisting