Obstacle \Ob"sta*cle\, n. [F., fr. L. obstaculum, fr. obstare to
withstand, oppose; ob (see Ob-) + stare to stand. See
Stand. and cf. Oust, v.]
That which stands in the way, or opposes; anything that
hinders progress; a hindrance; an obstruction, physical or
moral.
[1913 Webster]
If all obstacles were cut away.
And that my path were even to the crown. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Impediment; obstuction; hindrance; difficulty. See
Impediment, and Obstruction.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
obstacle
n 1: something immaterial that stands in the way and must be
circumvented or surmounted; "lack of immagination is an
obstacle to one's advancement"; "the poverty of a
district is an obstacle to good education"; "the
filibuster was a major obstruction to the success of
their plan" [syn: obstruction]
2: an obstruction that stands in the way (and must be removed
or surmounted or circumvented)
WordNet (r) 2.0
58 Moby Thesaurus words for "obstacle":
bar, barrier, blank wall, blind alley, blind gut, block, blockade,
blockage, bottleneck, catch, cecum, check, choking, choking off,
clog, congestion, constipation, cordon, costiveness, crimp,
cul-de-sac, curtain, dead end, determent, deterrent, difficulty,
disincentive, drawback, embolism, embolus, gorge, hamper, hang-up,
hazard, hindrance, hitch, hurdle, impasse, impediment, infarct,
infarction, jam, joker, mountain, objection, obstipation,
obstruction, obstructive, one small difficulty, rub, sealing off,
snag, stop, stoppage, strangulation, stumbling, stumbling block,
stumbling stone
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
obstruction
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