obstacle

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)

English

Etymology

From obstacle.

Pronunciation

Noun

1. Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
   • A big obstacle to understanding the manual was that it had been poorly translated from the Japanese

Translations

French

Etymology

From obstaculum, from obsto

Pronunciation

Noun

fr-noun m

1. 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