Hinder vs. Thwart: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
Hinder means to create obstacles or delays, making progress difficult, whereas thwart means to completely stop or prevent someone's plans or efforts.
Key Differences
Hinder refers to creating obstacles or difficulties that delay or impede progress, without necessarily stopping it completely. Thwart, in contrast, means to completely foil or prevent someone's plans or actions, ensuring they do not succeed.
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Dec 12, 2023
Hindering can be unintentional or incidental, simply making a task more challenging or slower to complete. Thwarting, however, typically involves a deliberate or strategic effort to ensure that a particular outcome is not achieved.
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The act of hindering often implies a slowing down or complication in a process or progress. Thwarting implies a more definitive action, ensuring the complete failure or neutralization of an intended goal or plan.
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Hinder can apply to various scenarios, from physical obstacles to abstract concepts like communication barriers. Thwart is more specific in its connotation, usually relating to the stopping of plans, efforts, or ambitions.
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Dec 12, 2023
In common usage, to hinder is to create difficulty, but with the possibility that the objective might still be reached. To thwart is to effectively cancel or nullify the intended goal, leaving little to no chance of success.
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Dec 12, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Meaning
Create obstacles or delays.
Completely stop or prevent plans or efforts.
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Intentionality
Can be unintentional or incidental.
Usually deliberate or strategic.
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Effect on Outcome
May slow down or complicate, but not stop.
Aims to ensure failure or non-achievement.
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Scope of Application
Broad, applies to various scenarios.
More specific to stopping plans or ambitions.
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Degree of Impact
Creates difficulty, not necessarily insurmountable.
Leads to complete nullification of goals.
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Hinder and Thwart Definitions
Hinder
To create a barrier or obstacle.
The new regulations hindered our ability to expand the business.
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Thwart
To oppose successfully and defeat a plan or purpose.
The team thwarted their rivals' attempt to score a goal.
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Hinder
To make it difficult for something to occur or be done.
Heavy traffic hindered our progress to the meeting.
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Thwart
To stop something from happening or someone from achieving a goal.
New regulations thwarted the company's expansion plans.
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Hinder
Located at or forming the back or rear; posterior
An animal's hind legs.
The hinder part of a steer.
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Thwart
To prevent someone from accomplishing something.
The spy thwarted the enemy's plans.
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Thwart
To block or frustrate an effort or process.
She thwarted his attempts at reconciliation.
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Hinder
To obstruct or delay the progress of
A snowfall hindered the mountain climbers.
Lack of funds that hindered research.
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Thwart
To prevent the occurrence, realization, or attainment of
They thwarted her plans.
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Hinder
(transitive) To make difficult to accomplish; to act as an obstacle; to frustrate.
A drought hinders the growth of plants.
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Hinder
(ambitransitive) To delay or impede; to keep back, to prevent.
She hindered a man from committing suicide.
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Hinder
Of or belonging to that part or end which is in the rear or hind, or which follows.
The hinder end of a wagon
The hinder parts of a horse
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Hinder
Of or belonging to that part or end which is in the rear, or which follows; as, the hinder part of a wagon; the hinder parts of a horse.
He was in the hinder part of the ship.
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Thwart
Placed or situated across something else; cross, oblique, transverse.
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Hinder
To keep back or behind; to prevent from starting or moving forward; to check; to retard; to obstruct; to bring to a full stop; - often followed by from; as, an accident hindered the coach; drought hinders the growth of plants; to hinder me from going.
Them that were entering in ye hindered.
I hinder you too long.
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Thwart
Of people: having a tendency to oppose; obstinate, perverse, stubborn.
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Hinder
To prevent or embarrass; to debar; to shut out.
What hinders younger brothers, being fathers of families, from having the same right?
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Hinder
To interpose obstacles or impediments; to be a hindrance.
This objection hinders not but that the heroic action of some commander . . . may be written.
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Thwart
(obsolete) Across the direction of travel or length of; athwart, crosswise, obliquely, transversely.
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Hinder
Be a hindrance or obstacle to;
She is impeding the progress of our project
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Hinder
Hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of;
His brother blocked him at every turn
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Thwart
(transitive) To cause to fail; to frustrate, to prevent.
Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the thunderstorm.
The police thwarted the would-be assassin.
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Hinder
Put at a disadvantage;
The brace I have to wear is hindering my movements
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Hinder
Located at or near the back of an animal;
Back (or hind) legs
The hinder part of a carcass
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Thwart
To hinder or obstruct by placing (something) in the way of; to block, to impede, to oppose.
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Hinder
To hold back or delay something.
Bad weather hindered the construction schedule.
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Thwart
To move (something) across or counter to; to cross.
An arrow thwarts the air.
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Hinder
To obstruct or impede.
A lack of funds hindered the project's completion.
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Thwart
(nautical) A seat across a boat on which a rower may sit.
The fisherman sat on the aft thwart to row.
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Hinder
To interfere with the operation or progress of.
His injury hindered his performance in the game.
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Thwart
(nautical) A brace, perpendicular to the keel, that helps maintain the t=breadth of a marine vessel against external water pressure and that may serve to support the rail.
A well-made dugout canoe rarely needs a thwart.
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Thwart
(rare) An act of thwarting; something which thwarts; a hindrance, an obstacle.
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Thwart
Situated or placed across something else; transverse; oblique.
Moved contrary with thwart obliquities.
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Thwart
A seat in an open boat reaching from one side to the other, or athwart the boat.
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Thwart
To move across or counter to; to cross; as, an arrow thwarts the air.
Swift as a shooting starIn autumn thwarts the night.
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Thwart
To cross, as a purpose; to oppose; to run counter to; to contravene; hence, to frustrate or defeat.
If crooked fortune had not thwarted me.
The proposals of the one never thwarted the inclinations of the other.
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Thwart
Hence, to be in opposition; to clash.
Any proposition . . . that shall at all thwart with internal oracles.
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Thwart
A crosspiece spreading the gunnels of a boat; used as a seat in a rowboat
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Thwart
Hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of;
What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge
Foil your opponent
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Thwart
To render efforts or plans ineffective.
The security measures thwarted the hackers' attack.
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Repeatedly Asked Queries
Does hinder mean the same as block?
Not exactly; hinder implies creating difficulty, while block suggests stopping something entirely.
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Dec 12, 2023
Can thwart be used in a positive sense?
Yes, if it involves stopping something harmful or undesirable.
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Dec 12, 2023
What does hinder mean?
Hinder means to create obstacles or delays, making something more difficult.
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Dec 12, 2023
What is the definition of thwart?
Thwart means to completely stop or prevent someone's plans or efforts.
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Can both terms apply to physical obstacles?
Yes, both can apply to physical situations, but they are often used in more abstract contexts.
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Is thwarting used in strategic contexts?
Yes, thwarting is often used in strategic or competitive scenarios.
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Is thwarting a temporary measure?
Thwarting usually aims for a more permanent or decisive outcome.
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Does hinder always involve direct action?
Not always; hindering can be indirect, such as through circumstances or environmental factors.
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Dec 12, 2023
Can hinder be used in a strategic sense?
While less common, hinder can be used strategically to create difficulties for an opponent.
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Dec 12, 2023
Can thwart be used in a legal context?
Yes, thwart can be used in legal contexts, often relating to preventing crimes or legal actions.
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Is thwarting always intentional?
Generally, yes. Thwarting usually involves a deliberate effort.
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Dec 12, 2023
Can hinder apply to personal development?
Yes, personal growth or development can be hindered by various factors.
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Dec 12, 2023
Does thwart have a synonym with a similar intensity?
Words like foil, stymie, or frustrate have similar meanings.
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Does thwart imply a complete stop?
Yes, thwart typically means to completely prevent or stop something.
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Dec 12, 2023
Are the consequences of hindering always negative?
Generally, yes, as hindering implies causing difficulty or delay.
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Does the context affect the use of hinder and thwart?
Yes, the context, such as personal, strategic, or physical, can affect the use and implication of both terms.
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Dec 12, 2023
Are the effects of hindering permanent?
Not necessarily; the obstacles created by hindering can often be overcome.
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Dec 12, 2023
Can thwart refer to personal goals?
Yes, thwart can be used in the context of personal goals or ambitions.
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Dec 12, 2023
Can hinder and thwart be used interchangeably?
Not exactly, as they imply different degrees of interference or prevention.
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Dec 12, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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