stonewall
verb
stone·wall
| \ ËstĆn-ËwÈŻl
\
\
stonewalled;
stonewalling;
stonewalls
Definition of stonewall
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
chiefly British
: to engage in obstructive parliamentary debate or delaying tactics
2
: to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive
: to refuse to comply or cooperate with
stone wall
nounDefinition of stone wall (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: a fence made of stones
especially
: one built of rough stones without mortar to enclose a field
2
: an immovable block or obstruction (as in public affairs)
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Examples of stonewall in a Sentence
Verb
They stonewalled until they could come up with a response. They were just stonewalling for time. They're trying to stonewall the media. We're trying to get the information, but we're being stonewalled.
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
The ultimate game is to imbue in society a collective sense of hopelessness [by] stonewalling the protests. — Washington Post, "With Hong Kong in turmoil, questions grow over leaderâs refusal to offer concessions to protesters," 29 Aug. 2019 Quick hits Mark Glowinski turned in an impressive day in one-on-one pass blocking, stonewalling Tyquan Lewis and Denico Autry in the same day, a feat that is not easy. — Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star, "Colts camp observations: Deon Cain, Reece Fountain add to intense receiver competition," 10 Aug. 2019 But according to the newspaper, Smith frequently stonewalled reporters. — oregonlive.com, "Malheur County asks sheriff to investigate local newspaper for contacting public officials," 20 Aug. 2019 Running out the clock, refusing to participate, stonewalling: the Trump playbook worked. — Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, "âAccountabilityâ? The Mueller Hearing Is How Trump Escapes It," 24 July 2019 In a separate subplot drawn from real-life controversy, a friend of Chrisâs tries to gain access to her dead daughterâs social media account (a clear Facebook stand-in), only to be stonewalled by the corporationâs policies. — Aja Romano, Vox, "âSmithereensâ takes aim at the tech dystopia we already live in but has nothing new to say.," 5 June 2019 The move also intensifies the conflict over a range oversight questions between Congress and the Trump administration, which has invoked privilege and through other measures sought to stonewall Democratic lawmakers' investigations. — Jeff Stein, Anchorage Daily News, "House Democrats sue Trump administration over presidentâs tax returns," 2 July 2019 Our frustration is mounting in the face of the administrationâs efforts to stonewall Congress at every turn. — Byron Tau, WSJ, "Hope Hicks Refuses to Answer Questions on Time in White House," 19 June 2019 That October, Solis recorded a meeting at City Hall when Burke allegedly expressed his displeasure over the way the developers continued to stonewall him. — John Byrne, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago alderman wants investigation of former Ald. Daniel Solis' licensing, permitting decisions," 12 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The Frenchmen succeeded; their siege tower got through, slamming against the stone wall of Jerusalem to bring them face to face with an enemy who had traded arrow volleys with them for the last five weeks. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Archeologists confirm near-legendary tale of crusadersâ siege of Jerusalem," 24 July 2019 Villneuve explained that the stone walls that were exposed to flames then saturated with water by firefighters could now dry out rapidly, causing the vaulted ceilings to become unstable and collapse. — Linda Givetash, NBC News, "European heatwave breaks record in Paris as Britain anticipates hottest temps ever," 25 July 2019 Don't forget to look miles of dry stone walls; the ancient technique (and art) of stacking stones in Italy and other European nations was recently inscribed on UNESCOâs Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. — Margarita Gokun Silver, National Geographic, "Hobbit homes in Italy? Not quite, but just as charming," 10 July 2019 Landmarks: The community library, opened in 1993, occupies the site of Scrippsâ daughterâs 1930s home and part of the estateâs stone wall remains. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Scripps Ranch: Family-friendly spot set in an imported eucalyptus forest," 30 June 2019 Thick stone walls hem lush citrus fields, and sunlight filters through swaying California pepper trees. — Alex Schechter, Vogue, "Forget Poppies, Ojaiâs Pixie Season Is the California Nature Event to Know," 10 Apr. 2019 This great stone wall stretched 73 miles from coast to coast across the narrowest part of northern England, where Britannia stopped and the barbarian land that would someday be Scotland began. — Rick Stevestribune Content Agency, The Seattle Times, "In Europeâs border walls, a divided history and a united future," 11 Sep. 2018 Any move to impeach Trump for alleged obstruction of justice during the Russia probe certainly would hit a stone wall in the Senate. — Dahleen Glanton, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Donald Trump could pose the greatest threat to America. But his enabler, Mitch McConnell, is a close second.," 11 July 2019 Look for the stone walls, iron gates and signage at the entrance. Donât attempt to turn left into the resort (too dangerous); instead, continue to the Zephyr Cove Resort and turn around at the traffic light. — Allen Pierleoni, The Mercury News, "8 spectacular Lake Tahoe beaches for maximum frolic," 30 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stonewall.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for stonewall
stonewall
verb
English Language Learners Definition of stonewall
: to refuse or fail to answer questions, to do what has been requested, etc., especially in order to delay or prevent something
See the full definition for stonewall in the English Language Learners Dictionary