obstruction

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun any structure that makes progress difficult
noun the physical condition of blocking or filling a passage with an obstruction
noun something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted

From Latin obstructio (“hindrance”), from obstruo (“build against, block, stop”).

How long will this obstruction continue? — The rose of old St. Louis, Mary (Mary C. Johnson) Dillon
He does not remove the obstruction. — Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled: A Narrative of Winter Travel in Interior Alaska, Hudson Stuck
This abatis was a formidable and fearful obstruction. — The Bishop of Cottontown: A Story of the Southern Cotton Mills, John Trotwood Moore

obstructor, obstructer, impediment, impedimenta

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