I. ˈäbz(ˌ)tikəl, -_tə̇k-, -tēk-; ˈäb(ˌ)stik-, -_stə̇k-, -stēk- noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin obstaculum, from obstare to stand before, hinder, from ob- to, against + stare to stand — more at ob- , stand
1. : something that stands in the way or opposes : something that hinders progress : a physical or moral impediment or obstruction : hindrance
2. obsolete : opposition , resistance
Synonyms:
obstacle , obstruction , impediment , bar , and snag can signify, in common, something which hampers or stops action or progress. obstacle applies to anything which stands in one's way or stops passage
the removal of an obstacle in the throat — F.D.Smith & Barbara Wilcox
the poverty of some of the … districts is an obstacle to good education — B.K.Sandwell
those obstacles, placed in the path of westward-marching pioneers by nature, must be surmounted before the continent was settled — R.A.Billington
obstruction stresses a blocking of the way or passage
can only be used in straight stretches of water where there are no obstructions — W.H.Dowdeswell
science deals with a psychological complex much as it deals with an obstruction in the bowels — Albert Dasnoy
circumvent the obstructions placed in the way of emigration — American Guide Series: New York
impediment , often interchangeable with obstacle , usually suggests something that hinders or delays as by entangling
the rugged hills of the peninsula were no impediment to the discharge of his clerical duties — American Guide Series: Maine
the most important impediment … to reform, perhaps, is the number and diversity of the plans which have been submitted as possible cures — R.M.Dawson
the increasing impediments to international trade — D.W.Brogan
bar implies something interposed as between a person and his goal
there were, of course, no bars against immigration in those days — Paul Blanshard
difference in language should be no bar to friendship
snag applies to an obstacle or a delay encountered suddenly and unexpectedly
his plan to build hit its first snag in the building code
the operations were constantly running into legal snags which delayed progress considerably
II. adjective
obsolete : obstinate
III. pronunc at n transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: obsolete French obstacler, from French obstacle, n., from Middle French
: to resist or harass with obstacles