OBSTRUCTION • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Obstruction

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/əbstrˈəkʃən/ Listen

noun

Obstruction n.

The act of obstructing, or state of being obstructed.

That which obstructs or impedes; an obstacle; an impediment; a hindrance. "A popular assembly free from obstruction."

The condition of having the natural powers obstructed in their usual course; the arrest of the vital functions; death. (Poetic) "To die, and go we know not where, To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot."

Synonyms: Obstacle; bar; barrier; impediment; clog; check; hindrance. 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. "Disparity in age seems a greater obstacle to an intimate friendship than inequality of fortune." "The king expected to meet with all the obstructions and difficulties his enraged enemies could lay in his way."

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Etymology of 'Obstruction'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Obstruction" Quotes from Famous Books

... shot down to the corner. It was all black shadow there, and, as Charlie intimated, he dared use no lights. If there was an obstruction they would ...

— Ruth Fielding at the War Front - or, The Hunt for the Lost Soldier • Alice B. Emerson

... course, but by walking slowly and feeling his way carefully, he managed to follow the passage way. Just as he began to think that he must be pretty nearly out of the den, however, he came suddenly upon an obstruction. Feeling about carefully he found that the passage in which he stood had come to an abrupt termination. We know, of course what had happened, but Jake did not. He had come to the end of the log which Sam had thrown down to stop up the passage ...

— Captain Sam - The Boy Scouts of 1814 • George Cary Eggleston

... insidious and too often open impeachments of the courts, which appear in the press and upon the hustings. They are charged with failure to do justice, with bad faith, with lack of intelligent sympathy for socially progressive movements, with a rigid and reactionary obstruction to the movement toward greater equality of condition, and with a hidebound and unnecessarily sensitive attitude of mind in respect to the rights of property. One count that looms large in the wide range of the indictment ...

— Ethics in Service • William Howard Taft

... be placed on a satisfactory basis until it is regulated by law. For the good of the service itself, for the protection of those who are intrusted with the appointing power against the waste of time and obstruction to the public business caused by the inordinate pressure for place, and for the protection of incumbents against intrigue and wrong, I shall at the proper time ask Congress to fix the tenure of the minor offices ...

— United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches - From Washington to George W. Bush • Various

... our governing bodies through the obstruction and perverse action of an ignorant or corrupt majority or minority in them may be in the administration of great public affairs, the time at last comes when the nation arouses from its lethargy, shakes off its torpor, ...

— Public Speaking • Irvah Lester Winter

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