Adjacent Words

Impediment definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

IMPED'IMENT, n. [L. impedimentum.] That which hinders progress or motion; hinderance; obstruction; obstacle; applicable to every subject, physical or moral. Bad roads are impediments in marching and travelling. Idleness and dissipation are impediments to improvement. The cares of life are impediments to the progress of vital religion.
1. That which prevents distinct articulation; as an impediment in speech.
IMPED'IMENT, v.t. To impede. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress [syn: hindrance, hinderance, deterrent, impediment, balk, baulk, check, handicap]
2: any structure that makes progress difficult [syn: obstruction, obstructor, obstructer, impediment, impedimenta]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 14th century 1. something that impedes; especially an organic obstruction to speech 2. a bar or hindrance (as lack of sufficient age) to a lawful marriage

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a hindrance or obstruction. 2 a defect in speech, e.g. a lisp or stammer. Derivatives: impedimental adj. Etymology: ME f. L impedimentum (as IMPEDE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Impediment Im*ped"i*ment, v. t. To impede. [R.] --Bp. Reynolds.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Impediment Im*ped"i*ment, n. [L. impedimentum: cf. F. impediment.] That which impedes or hinders progress, motion, activity, or effect. Thus far into the bowels of the land Have we marched on without impediment. --Shak. Impediment in speech, a defect which prevents distinct utterance. Syn: Hindrance; obstruction; obstacle; difficulty; incumbrance. Usage: Impediment, Obstacle, Difficulty, Hindrance. An impediment literally strikes against our feet, checking our progress, and we remove it. An obstacle rises before us in our path, and we surmount or remove it. A difficulty sets before us something hard to be done, and we encounter it and overcome it. A hindrance holds us back for a time, but we break away from it. The eloquence of Demosthenes was to Philip of Macedon, a difficulty to be met with his best recources, ant obstacle to his own ambition, and an impedimen in his political career. --C. J. Smith.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(impediments) 1. Something that is an impediment to a person or thing makes their movement, development, or progress difficult. (FORMAL) He was satisfied there was no legal impediment to the marriage. = obstacle N-COUNT: oft N to n, also without N 2. Someone who has a speech impediment has a disability which makes speaking difficult. N-COUNT

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

im-ped'-i-ment: Found in Mr 7:32, "had an impediment in his speech," as a translation of mogilalos, comparative of mogos, "toil" and lalos, "speech," i.e. one who speaks with difficulty. In the Septuagint the word is used as a translation of 'illem, "dumb" (Isa 35:6).

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Hindrance, obstruction, obstacle, check, bar, difficulty, stumbling-block, encumbrance.

Moby Thesaurus

arrest, arrestation, arrestment, bar, barrier, blank wall, blind alley, blind gut, block, blockade, blockage, blocking, bottleneck, burden, burthen, cargo, cecum, charge, check, choking, choking off, clog, clogging, closing up, closure, congestion, constipation, constriction, costiveness, cramp, cross, cul-de-sac, cumbrance, curb, dead end, deadweight, delay, detainment, detention, difficulty, disadvantage, embarrassment, embolism, embolus, encumbrance, fixation, foot-dragging, freight, gorge, hamper, hampering, handicap, hang-up, hindering, hindrance, hitch, hold-up, holdback, holdup, hurdle, impasse, impedance, impedimenta, imposition, inconvenience, infarct, infarction, inhibition, interference, interruption, jam, let, load, lumber, mountain, negativism, nuisance value, obstacle, obstipation, obstruction, obstructionism, occlusion, onus, opposition, pack, penalty, repression, resistance, restraint, restriction, retardation, retardment, rub, sealing off, setback, snag, squeeze, stop, stoppage, stranglehold, strangulation, stricture, stumbling block, suppression, trouble, weight, white elephant