impediment
Americannoun
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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
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.
"I have a speech impediment, I stutter, so for people who feel like they're not the 'typical' host, I want this to feel like a home."
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
The Journal reviewed more than 100,000 posts from those accounts and identified 1,456 posts in which the government alleged an assault, impediment, attack or conspiracy or attempt to harm a federal officer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026
That could be a serious impediment for Anthropic, whose Claude artificial-intelligence model is widely used by the U.S. military and government contractors.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 5, 2026
“There is no statutory impediment in the U.S. to closing Paramount’s proposed acquisition of WBD,” Paramount said in a regulatory filing.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026
“You will voluntarily sunder my last knot, the final impediment to my independence, if I restore your grandmother to her human form?”
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
