athwart 1 of 2

1
as in through
from one side to the other of an intervening space after it enters the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane is predicted to advance athwart to the Texas coastline

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Relevance
2
as in diagonally
in a line or direction running from corner to corner we hung the twisted strips of crepe paper athwart to the floor and ceiling so that they formed giant crosses on all four walls

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

athwart

2 of 2

preposition

as in across
to the opposite side of athwart the road was farmland as far as the eye could see

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of athwart
Preposition
An obstructionist Supreme Court, however, stood athwart the New Deal’s path. John Fabian Witt, The New Republic, 26 Aug. 2022 One of the world’s largest container ships was wedged athwart the Suez canal on March 24th, apparently blown off course by high winds. The Economist, 24 Mar. 2021 One of the world’s largest container ships was wedged athwart the Suez Canal on March 23rd, blown off course by high winds. The Economist, 27 Mar. 2021 The outgoing Trump administration is standing athwart a massive investment management trend. Michael Taylor, ExpressNews.com, 2 Dec. 2020 Her mother, feeling abandoned by her constantly traveling husband, had affairs; her father’s heartfelt liberalism would run athwart of the postwar Red Scare. Elsa Dixler, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Apr. 2020 Indeed, instead of ostentatious acts of helping people, the administration almost preferred being seen standing athwart attempts to provide relief. Alex Pareene, The New Republic, 20 Dec. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for athwart
Adverb
  • People gathered or marched through, for an array of reasons including advocating for racial justice, promoting environmental justice, raising awareness of international issues and celebrating Juneteenth.
    Juliana Kim, NPR, 8 Mar. 2025
  • There was little overlap among our suggestions, and there were a lot of works to sift through.
    Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 5 Mar. 2025
Adverb
  • The pickup truck leading them parks diagonally and obstructs oncoming vehicles.
    Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Jan. 2025
  • They’re hidden horizontally, vertically, diagonally and backward.
    Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2024
Preposition
  • To better understand this, the researchers used a machine-learning model to estimate how much fine particulate matter was in the air at every mile marker on the course of nine marathons located across the U.S. between 2003 and 2019.
    Claire Maldarelli, Scientific American, 28 Feb. 2025
  • Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in cities across the country as part of a general strike called to demand justice for the 57 people killed on Feb. 28, 2023, when a passenger train collided head-on with a freight train.
    Derek Gatopoulos and Elena Becatoros, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2025
Adverb
  • Women and men 51 and over should get at least 15 micrograms, or 600 International Units (IU) of vitamin D per day, with a Tolerable Upper Intake Limit (UL) of 100 micrograms (4,000 IU).
    Laura Schober, Health, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Vaccine design For most, the gut-busting bug is miserable but usually over in a few days.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 6 Mar. 2025
Preposition
  • Skepticism around the safety of vaccines has led to falling measles vaccine rates among children, but data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows adverse reactions have been reported far less for the measles vaccine than for the COVID-19 vaccine.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Mar. 2025
  • There are other ways to do this, from using a letterbox around some scenes to simply trusting that viewers are able to tell the difference based on context.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Athwart.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/athwart. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

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