Synonyms for obstacle
ˈɒb stə kəlob·sta·cle

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:2.3 / 3 votes

1. obstaclenoun

   Synonyms:
   hurdle, hindrance, impediment

2. obstaclenoun

   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.

   Synonyms:
   hindrance, hurdle, impediment

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.0 / 2 votes

1. obstacle

   A bar is something that is or may be firmly fixed, ordinarily with intent to prevent entrance or egress; as, the bars of a prison cell; the bars of a wood-lot. A barrier obstructs, but is not necessarily impassable. Barrier is used of objects more extensive than those to which bar is ordinarily applied. A mountain range may be a barrier to exploration; but a mass of sand across the entrance to a harbor is called a bar. Discovered falsehood is a bar to confidence. Barricade has become practically a technical name for an improvised street fortification, and, unless in some way modified, is usually so understood. A parapet is a low or breast-high wall, as about the edge of a roof, terrace, etc., especially, in military use, such a wall for the protection of troops; a rampart is the embankment surrounding a fort, on which the parapet is raised; the word rampart is often used as including the parapet. Bulwark is a general word for any defensive wall or rampart; its only technical use at present is in nautical language, where it signifies the raised side of a ship above the upper deck, topped by the rail. Compare BOUNDARY; IMPEDIMENT.

   Synonyms:
   bar, barricade, barrier, breastwork, bulwark, hindrance, obstruction, parapet, prohibition, rampart, restraint, restriction

   Antonyms:
   admittance, entrance, opening, passage, road, thoroughfare, transit, way

   Preposition:
   A barrier to progress, against invasion; a barrier between nations.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.3 / 3 votes

1. obstacle

   Synonyms:
   impediment, obstruction, hindrance, objection, bar, difficulty, check, obstruction

   Antonyms:
   course, proceeding, career, advancement

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 2 votes

1. obstacle, obstructionnoun

   something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted

   "lack of imagination 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"

   Synonyms:
   obstructer, impediment, obstructor, blockage, impedimenta, obstruction

2. obstaclenoun

   an obstruction that stands in the way (and must be removed or surmounted or circumvented)

   Synonyms:
   obstruction

Matched Categories

1. • Hindrance
   • Obstruction

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. problem

   something that prevents progress

   poverty is the great obstacle to the development of the country

   Submitted by rinat on May 26, 2016  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. obstaclenoun

   Synonyms:
   hinderance, obstruction, impediment, difficulty, check, barrier, stumbling-block, lion in the way

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:2.0 / 1 vote

1. obstaclenoun

   Synonyms:
   obstruction, barrier, impediment, hindrance, stumbling-block

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "obstacle":

   barrier, impediment, hurdle, hindrance, obstacles, aqaba, constraint, barriers, obstruction, handicap, al-aqaba, roadblock, challenge, disincentive, bottleneck, stumbling-block, brake

How to pronounce obstacle?

How to say obstacle in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use obstacle in a sentence?

1. Colin Strother:

   We need to end the circular firing squad and get to work. Our biggest obstacle to success is members of our own Democratic Party, we have one or two senators holding up big ticket items that we need to pass. We have a handful of the far left in the House who have never done anything acting like they dictate the agenda and the timeline for bills passing.

2. Taryn Manning:

   I am truly grateful for what some may call hitting rock bottom... Some days it sucks and some days it sucks worse. I am not ashamed of this obstacle because I have accepted that it is OK to not be OK.

3. Kelly Ernby:

   As it applies to COVID, the argument [ vaccine mandate opposition ] undermines communal action at precisely the moment when communal action has emerged as the only obstacle to the spread of a deadly disease, what’s especially iniquitous about the anti-mandate and anti-vaccination arguments is the damage they are doing to America’s public health system.

4. Kyrsten Sinema:

   She has proven herself an obstacle to the right to vote in the United States.

5. Steve Jones:

   It's a cumulative problem that creates an obstacle course for whales that only gets more cluttered year by year.