impediment
Americannoun
-
impediments
plural
-
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
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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:
But remember, despair isn’t activism—it’s just another impediment to progress.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
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
"Human consent is not an impediment to progress. Human consent does not diminish the struggles and the joys of technological innovation or inhuman creativity," Blanchett said at the event in the parliament's library.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
The only actual change that had come over him in the past years was that, for some reason, his impediment had gotten worse.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
As much as you might want to stay in your home, new impediments can arise.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
She marshals the data to show how women continue to face unique impediments to success, and how both men and women justify their actions in a way that preserves the status quo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said at the weekend that assistance for the territory's 2.1 million population "must be scaled up by removing impediments and safeguarding neutrality of aid".
From BBC ● May 5, 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
You wouldn’t think there is anything life threatening about speech impediments, but let me tell you, there is nothing more dangerous than being a lad with a stutter and a lisp.
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
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.
