to derail a plan
1
5.2
- phrasal verb
- A lack of resources derailed her plans to develop a retail store there.
- helped derail a plan
Examples
-
He said political dithering over the deficit could derail his expansion plans, as the amount of tax exemptions he can employ could be significantly reduced come January.
Blog text (29) -
It's not clear what derailed the Iglesias plan, though money is always an issue with talent show judges.
Blog text (23) -
Ryan Teten, a political science professor involved in organizing the debate, says there were communication problems among university officials that derailed the plans.
Blog text (4) -
More importantly, Trudeau did not want an ongoing energy conflict to derail his constitutional plans (James 1993, 44).
Academic text (2004) -
Sometimes researchers minimize the risks posed by their work—especially in the "minor risk" category—apparently in hopes of avoiding red flags that could delay or derail their research plans.
Academic text (2016) -
The unexpected storm could derail our plans for the outdoor concert.
-
Financial difficulties might derail the project's timeline if not addressed.
-
Try to avoid distractions that could derail your study schedule this semester.
Synonyms
244
4.4
To interrupt normal activity and cause disorder
94
2.7
To stop a proposal from passing, often by vote
84
4.6
Make a plan or project fail
82
5.6
To stop a plan or activity before it finishes, often because of problems
77
7.4
To stop someone from doing what they want
75
3.6
To make it difficult for people or things to do something
73
6.7
To make something less stable, safe, or likely to succeed
59
6.5
To slow the progress or movement of people and things
46
6.3
To make something shorter or less than planned
35
5.5
To stop a plan or action from working
19
3.6
Stop someone from doing something they planned to do
7
5.6
Make attempts to reach a goal weaker or less effective
5
8.0
To stop or slow progress
1
8.6
Cause problems on purpose that stop a plan or process from working smoothly
1
5.6
To stop someone on purpose from doing what they planned
To ruin someone's plans by making them fail or change suddenly
Antonyms
How Disrupted
164
7.1
1
5.2
244
4.4
796
2.5
235
3.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to disrupt or prevent the successful progress of an arrangement, plan, or discussion' is directly derivable from combining 'derail' (to interrupt or ruin an intended plan or process) with 'plan' (ordered actions toward an objective). Although 'derail' originates as a train-related metaphor, its transferred sense of causing something to fail is conventional and predictable in English, so a learner who knows the constituent words would understand the expression.
Etymology
The verb derail a plan comes from trains: when a train comes off the rails it stops and causes big trouble, so to derail something means to suddenly stop or ruin its progress. That's why derail a plan means 'to disrupt or prevent' a plan from succeeding.