Dictionary

thwarten en · VERB

Etymology

From Middle English thwertenen, equivalent to thwart + -en.

Meanings

1. (ambitransitive) To be positioned contrary to; be set against; oppose; hinder
   • Small scale magnetic turbulence may quench the instability; the galactic differential rotation also tends to thwarten the growth of the longest modes. 1981, T. D. Guyenne, G. Lévy, Plasma astrophysics:
   • It is e.g. frivolous — and in the longer run thwartens the wishes of the tax stabilizers — if accidental declines in expenditures are without much justification used for new (and more or less permanent) tasks. 1967, International Quarterly Journal Devoted to the Study of Fiscal Policy and Related Problems:
   • […] (2) that the expansion of agricultural production for export purposes did not thwarten food production, and (3) that rural poverty had been reduced and the quality of life had been improved. 1988, Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture:

Forms