Obstacle

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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)

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  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