impediment
Americannoun
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obstruction; hindrance; obstacle.
- Synonyms:
- check, encumbrance, bar
- Antonyms:
- encouragement, help
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any physical impairment or condition that impedes normal, fluent, or easy speech; a speech disorder.
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Chiefly Ecclesiastical Law. a bar, usually of blood or affinity, to marriage.
a diriment impediment.
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Usually impediments. impedimenta.
noun
-
a hindrance or obstruction
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a physical defect, esp one of speech, such as a stammer
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law an obstruction to the making of a contract, esp a contract of marriage by reason of closeness of blood or affinity
Related Words
See obstacle.
Other Word Forms
- impedimental adjective
- impedimentary adjective
- nonimpedimental adjective
- nonimpedimentary adjective
Etymology
Origin of impediment
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin impedīmentum; impede, -ment
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.
A therapist can offer tools to overcome mood disorders and other impediments to your mental health.
From MarketWatch
The businesses otherwise faced a big impediment: state rules that generally limit such contracts to five or 10 years and require competitive bidding to operate on property within a park.
Despite the impediments, AI may yet be key to solving the country’s mental-health crisis.
Existing due-on-sale mortgage contracts prohibit this, but legislation could remove that unnecessary legal impediment and make it possible through the following process:
The Sweet Southern Stammer was David Lewis, a genial Republican House member from rural North Carolina with a speech impediment and an uncommon mastery of election law.
From Salon
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.
