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obstruent

[ob-stroo-uh nt]
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adjective
  1. Medicine/Medical. (of a substance) producing an obstruction.
  2. Phonetics. (of a speech sound) characterized by stoppage or obstruction of the flow of air from the lungs.Compare sonorant.
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noun
  1. Medicine/Medical. a medicine that closes the natural passages of the body.
  2. Phonetics. an obstruent speech sound; a stop, fricative, or affricate.Compare sonorant(def 2).
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Origin of obstruent

1660–70; < Latin obstruent- (stem of obstruēns, present participle of obstruere); see obstruct, -ent
Related formsun·ob·stru·ent, adjectiveun·ob·stru·ent·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

obstruent
British Dictionary definitions for obstruent

obstruent

adjective
  1. causing obstruction, esp of the intestinal tract
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noun
  1. anything that causes obstruction
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Word Origin

C17: from Latin obstruere to obstruct
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
obstruent in Medicine

obstruent

(ŏb′strōō-ənt)
adj.
  1. Obstructing or closing the natural passages of the body.
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n.
  1. An obstruent medicine or agent.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.