thwarten
verbEtymology From Middle English thwertenen, equivalent to thwart + -en.
1
Ambitransitive To be positioned contrary to; be set against; oppose; hinder
- 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:
- 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:
1 more example
- […] (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: