Obstruction \Ob*struc"tion\, n. [L. obstructio.]
1. The act of obstructing, or state of being obstructed.
[1913 Webster]
2. That which obstructs or impedes; an obstacle; an
impediment; a hindrance.
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A popular assembly free from obstruction. --Swift.
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3. The condition of having the natural powers obstructed in
their usual course; the arrest of the vital functions;
death. [Poetic]
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To die, and go we know not where,
To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot. --Shak.
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Syn: Obstacle; bar; barrier; impediment; clog; check;
hindrance.
Usage: Obstruction, Obstacle. The difference between
these words is that indicated by their etymology; an
obstacle is something standing in the way; an
obstruction is something put in the way. Obstacle
implies more fixedness and is the stronger word. We
remove obstructions; we surmount obstacles.
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Disparity in age seems a greater obstacle to an
intimate friendship than inequality of fortune.
--Collier.
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The king expected to meet with all the
obstructions and difficulties his enraged
enemies could lay in his way. --Clarendon.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
obstruction
n 1: any structure that makes progress difficult [syn: obstructor,
obstructer, impediment, impedimenta]
2: the state or condition of being obstructed [syn: blockage]
3: 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: obstacle]
4: the act of obstructing; "obstruction of justice"
5: getting in someone's way
WordNet (r) 2.0
147 Moby Thesaurus words for "obstruction":
afterthought, arrest, arrestation, arrestment, bar, barrier, bind,
blank wall, blind alley, blind gut, block, blockade, blockage,
blocking, bottleneck, bureaucratic delay, catch, cecum, cessation,
check, checking, choking, choking off, clog, clogging, closing up,
closure, congestion, constipation, constraint, constriction,
cordon, costiveness, cramp, cul-de-sac, curtain, dead end,
deceleration, delay, delayage, delayed reaction, detainment,
detention, determent, deterrent, difficulty, double take, drag,
dragging, drawback, ease-off, ease-up, embolism, embolus, fixation,
flagging, foot-dragging, forbiddance, forbidding, gorge, halt,
halting, hamper, hampering, hang-up, hazard, hindering, hindrance,
hitch, holdback, holdup, hurdle, impasse, impediment, impeding,
infarct, infarction, inhibition, interference, interim,
interruption, jam, joker, lag, lagging, let, letdown, letup,
limitation, limiting, logjam, minus acceleration, moratorium,
mountain, negativism, nuisance value, objection, obstacle,
obstipation, obstructionism, obstructive, occlusion,
one small difficulty, opposition, paperasserie, pause,
proscription, red tape, red-tapeism, red-tapery, repression,
reprieve, resistance, respite, restraint, restriction, retardance,
retardation, retardment, rub, sealing off, setback, slack-up,
slackening, slow-up, slowdown, slowing, slowing down, slowness,
slowup, snag, squeeze, stay, stay of execution, stop, stoppage,
stopping, stranglehold, strangulation, stricture, stumbling block,
stumbling stone, suppression, suspension, tie-up, time lag, wait
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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