SAT TEM8 GMAT GRE
外刊例句
- The Chinese suspect that America is motivated by a desire not for fair trade but for thwarting a new rival.
中方则怀疑美国的目的并非公平贸易，而是要打压一个新对手。
——《经济学人》 - Just as some scientists are working on quantum computers, others are working on quantum security techniques that could thwart the code-breaking abilities of these machines of the future.
正如一些科学家在研究量子计算机一样，另一些科学家也在研究量子安全技术，这种技术可以阻止这些未来机器的密码破译能力。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[verb] prevent (someone) from accomplishing something
[动词] 阻止（某人）完成某事
深入解读
Thwart 一词源自古北欧语 thverr （横向的、横断的），13世纪进入英语时本是个副词，表示“横跨着、斜横地”，后来也用作形容词表示“横放的、横贯的”。但这些含义现今都不再流行，只能从介词 athwart （横跨于；与…不一致、与…相反）中找到一丝影子。
好在类似 balk 从横在面前的“田脊、田埂”引申出“障碍、阻碍、挫折”一样， thwart 后来也发展为动词流传至今，主要表示“阻止、阻挠、挫败”，强调反对某人某事或与之背道而驰，使其无法取得进展，比如：
- 他正试图阻挠她实现雄心壮志。
He's trying to thwart her ambition.
名著用例
In spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart, just as pure as you were at the age of eleven, when you stared into a mirror that reflected your heart's desire, and it showed you only the way to thwart Lord Voldemort, and not immortality or riches.
虽然经历了那么多诱惑，那么多痛苦，你依然心地纯洁，还像你十一岁时那样。当时你向那面能照出你内心愿望的镜子中望去，看到的只有怎样挫败伏地魔，而没有永生和财富。
出自英国作家J.K.罗琳创作的长篇小说《哈利·波特与混血王子》（Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince）。该小说是《哈利·波特》系列的第六部。
同近义词
- foil: prevent (something considered wrong or undesirable) from succeeding
- frustrate: prevent (a plan or attempted action) from progressing, succeeding, or being fulfilled
- balk: thwart or hinder (a plan or person)
