Stonewall

To stonewall means to deliberately delay or obstruct a process, request, or discussion by refusing to answer questions or provide information, often with evasive or uncooperative behavior. This tactic aims to prevent progress, gain time, or avoid revealing unfavorable truths. It can manifest as a rigid defense, a refusal to compromise, or a calculated effort to derail a project or investigation. This can also refer to the act of blocking something from being implemented, or of refusing to do something a person is requested to. It's a form of passive resistance used to protect someone or something, usually a secret.

Stonewall meaning with examples

• During the Senate hearing, the CEO of the company stonewalled the questioning, refusing to answer specific questions about the financial irregularities and hiding behind vague statements. This caused great frustration with the committee and caused the stock to dip drastically. Many people are now afraid that they company will go bankrupt.
• The government’s efforts to investigate corruption were stonewalled by the officials involved, who used every possible bureaucratic delay and legal loophole to avoid providing the requested documents and testifying, thus delaying the investigation for years. This ultimately prevented any justice from being served.
• When his wife asked for a divorce, he stonewalled her attempts to discuss the terms, refusing to meet or acknowledge the issue, hoping she'd drop the request. In this case, however, it backfired, and made the separation even worse.
• The team's attempt to release the new software was stonewalled by the IT department, who cited various security concerns and kept delaying the necessary approvals, ultimately holding the entire project's timeline, and making the team very angry.