impediment
Americannoun
-
obstruction; hindrance; obstacle.
- Synonyms:
- check, encumbrance, bar
- Antonyms:
- encouragement, help
-
any physical impairment or condition that impedes normal, fluent, or easy speech; a speech disorder.
-
Chiefly Ecclesiastical Law. a bar, usually of blood or affinity, to marriage.
a diriment impediment.
-
Usually impediments. impedimenta.
noun
-
a hindrance or obstruction
-
a physical defect, esp one of speech, such as a stammer
-
law an obstruction to the making of a contract, esp a contract of marriage by reason of closeness of blood or affinity
Synonym Usage
See obstacle.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of impediment
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin impedīmentum; see impede, -ment
Explanation
An impediment is anything that slows or blocks progress. It can refer to a physical thing, like a fallen tree in the road, or something more intangible, like how your short stature is an impediment to becoming a professional basketball player. See the pedi in there? Pedi means "feet" and hundreds of years ago, the word impediment referred to shackling one's feet. Now its use has broadened considerably. An impediment is something that blocks or impedes your path. There's no end to the things in life that can be considered impediments: a small bank account, a low-paying job, a country's economic malaise — any one of these could be considered an impediment in someone's quest for happiness.
Vocabulary lists containing impediment
"Harrison Bergeron"
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Othello
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
This is, by far, the main structural impediment to success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
“That makes sense, and there’s no legal impediment to doing that.”
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
"The absence of documentation is a serious impediment to continuing your lives," he told AFP in the capital Kabul.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
"Institutional disaggregation" is an impediment to solving this, says Dawda.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
Furthermore, once malaria and yellow fever did become transmitted to the Americas by European ship traffic, they emerged as the major impediment to colonization of the New World tropics as well.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
As much as you might want to stay in your home, new impediments can arise.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
Once the MoU is signed, the US will begin removing its naval blockade and "any disturbances or impediments" that have been placed on Iranian ports, the fourth point says.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
The EPA also removed "all federal impediments to selling E10," gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol, Zeldin said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
Wiener said his bill would rectify those impediments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026
Most others believe that recent Mexican immigrants will eventually take their place in society, and perhaps someday muster political clout commensurate with their numbers, though significant impediments are slowing their progress.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
