obstruent

[ ob-stroo-uh nt ]

/ ˈɒb stru ənt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR obstruent ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

Medicine/Medical. (of a substance) producing an obstruction.

Phonetics. (of a speech sound) characterized by stoppage or obstruction of the flow of air from the lungs.Compare sonorant.

noun

Medicine/Medical. a medicine that closes the natural passages of the body.

Phonetics. an obstruent speech sound; a stop, fricative, or affricate.Compare sonorant(def 2).

Words nearby obstruent

obstructive dysmenorrhea, obstructive hydrocephalus, obstructive jaundice, obstructive murmur, obstructive thrombus, obstruent, obtain, obtaining by deception, obtect, obtemper, obtest

Origin of obstruent

1660–70; < Latin obstruent- (stem of obstruēns, present participle of obstruere); see obstruct, -ent

OTHER WORDS FROM obstruent

un·ob·stru·ent, adjectiveun·ob·stru·ent·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for obstruent

obstruent

/ (ˈɒbstrʊənt) med /

adjective

causing obstruction, esp of the intestinal tract

noun

anything that causes obstruction

Word Origin for obstruent

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

Medical definitions for obstruent

obstruent

[ ŏb′strōō-ənt ]

adj.

Obstructing or closing the natural passages of the body.

n.

An obstruent medicine or agent.