obstacle
[ob-stuh-kuhl]
- something that obstructs or hinders progress.
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Origin of obstacle
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comObstacle, obstruction, hindrance, impediment refer to something that interferes with or prevents action or progress. An obstacle is something, material or nonmaterial, that stands in the way of literal or figurative progress: Lack of imagination is an obstacle to one's advancement. An obstruction is something that more or less completely blocks a passage: A blood clot is an obstruction to the circulation. A hindrance keeps back by interfering and delaying: Interruptions are a hindrance to one's work. An impediment interferes with proper functioning: an impediment in one's speech.
Antonyms
help.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
restrictionhardshipobstructionhandicapbumpinterferencesnagdifficultyhurdlehindrancehitchdisincentiveinterruptiontraverseclogencumbrancemountainrubhang-uphamperExamples from the Web for obstacle
Contemporary Examples
In fact, she says the sexism she faced was far more of an obstacle than her autism in the workplace.
If there is no obstacle, they would enjoy the ease that is shown to everyone else.
“After you imagine the obstacle, you can figure out what you can do to overcome it and make a plan,” explains Oettingen.
But she nevertheless downplayed their differences as any obstacle to joining forces.
Just getting to Malibu Colony has become an obstacle course.
Historical Examples
He made a brief gesture, like one wiping an obstacle out of the way.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
That was the entering wedge—the mention of an obstacle to overcome.
It Happened in EgyptC. N. Williamson
It has been raised from the rank of a fiction to the dignity of an obstacle.
Alarms and DiscursionsG. K. Chesterton
I had to be dragged away, but I am soon myself again when confronted by an obstacle.
My Double LifeSarah Bernhardt
After overcoming every obstacle, he had the satisfaction of reaping the reward of his enterprise.
Self-HelpSamuel Smiles
obstacle
- a person or thing that opposes or hinders something
- British a fence or hedge used in showjumping
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Word Origin
C14: via Old French from Latin obstāculum, from obstāre, from ob- against + stāre to stand
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for obstacle
n.
mid-14c., from Old French obstacle, ostacle "opposition, obstruction, hindrance" (13c.) or directly from Latin obstaculum "a hindrance, obstacle," with instrumental suffix *-tlom + obstare "stand before, stand opposite to, block, hinder, thwart," from ob "against" (see ob-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).
The lover thinks more often of reaching his mistress than the husband of guarding his wife; the prisoner thinks more often of escaping than the gaoler of shutting his door; and so, whatever the obstacles may be, the lover and the prisoner ought to succeed. [Stendhal, "Charterhouse of Parma"]
Obstacle course is attested from 1891.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper