obstacle

ob·sta·cle
O1B3S1T1A1C3L1E1
UK/ˈɒbstəkəl/US/ˈɑbstəkəl/

noun

Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress, either physically or figuratively

“A big obstacle to understanding the manual was that it had been poorly translated from the Japanese.”

Similar
impedimenthindrancehurdlebarriercomplicationsnagobstruction
OriginMiddle English obstacle ← Old French obstacle ← Latin obstāculum →
Less commonScrabble 12
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Meanings

nounobstacle (plural obstacles)

plural obstacles

  1. Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress, either physically or figuratively

    A big obstacle to understanding the manual was that it had been poorly translated from the Japanese.

    Synonyms: impediment, hindrance, hurdle, barrier, complication, snag

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress, either physically or figuratively

Similar
impedimenthindrancehurdlebarriercomplicationsnag

More synonyms by meaning

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

Similar
obstruction
Broader
hindrancehinderancedeterrent
Also see
hindranceimpedimentmalefitnuisanceobstructionroadblockstumbling block

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinobstāculum
  2. Old Frenchobstacle
  3. Middle Englishobstacle
  4. Englishobstacle

From Middle English obstacle, from Old French obstacle, from Latin obstāculum.

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek κώλυμα
  • κώλυμα (kṓluma)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Arabic عَقَبَة, حَاجِز
  • عَقَبَة (ʕaqaba)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • حَاجِز (ḥājiz)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • عَائِق (ʕāʔiq)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Bulgarian препя́тствие, прегра́да
  • препя́тствие (prepjátstvie)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • прегра́да (pregráda)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Catalan obstacle
  • obstaclesomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Chinese Mandarin 障礙 /障碍, 妨礙 /妨碍
  • 障礙 /障碍 (zhàng'ài)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • 妨礙 /妨碍 (fáng'ài)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Czech překážka
  • překážkasomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Danish forhindring, hindring
  • forhindringsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • hindringsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Dutch obstakel, belemmering
  • obstakelsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • belemmeringsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • hordesomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Esperanto obstaklo, malhelpo
  • obstaklosomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • malhelposomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Estonian takistus
  • takistussomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Finnish este
  • estesomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
French obstacle
  • obstaclesomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
German Hindernis, Hürde
  • Hindernissomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • Hürdesomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Greek εμπόδιο, πρόσκομμα
  • εμπόδιο (empódio)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • πρόσκομμα (próskomma)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Hebrew מִכְשׁוֹל
  • מִכְשׁוֹל (mikhshól)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Hindi बाधा, रुकावट
  • बाधा (bādhā)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • रुकावट (rukāvaṭ)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • अड़चन (aṛcan)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Hungarian akadály, obsztákulum
  • akadálysomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • obsztákulumsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Icelandic hindrun
  • hindrunsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Irish constaic
  • constaicsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Italian ostacolo, inciampo
  • ostacolosomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • inciamposomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Japanese 障害, 邪魔
  • 障害 (shōgai)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • 邪魔 (jama)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • 障害物 (shōgaibutsu)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Korean 장애, 장애물
  • 장애 (jang'ae)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • 장애물 (jang'aemul)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • 방해물 (banghaemul)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • 장해 (janghae)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Latin obstantia, obiectus
  • obstantiasomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • obiectussomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • ōbexsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • morasomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • obstāculumsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • impedīmentumsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Latvian šķērslis
  • šķērslissomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Lithuanian kliūtis
  • kliūtissomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Malay halangan, aral
  • halangansomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • aralsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Māori taunahua
  • taunahuasomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Norwegian Bokmål hinder, hindring
  • hindersomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • hindringsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • abersomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Persian مانع, سد
  • مانع (mâne')something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • سد (sadd)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Polish przeszkoda, trudność
  • przeszkodasomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • trudnośćsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • ambarassomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Portuguese obstáculo, estorvo
  • obstáculosomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • estorvosomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • impedimentosomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • empecilhosomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • obstruçãosomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • entravesomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • óbicesomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • barreirasomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • tolhimentosomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • trambolhosomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • travancasomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Romanian obstacol, piedică
  • obstacolsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • piedicăsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Russian препя́тствие, прегра́да
  • препя́тствие (prepjátstvije)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • прегра́да (pregráda)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • поме́ха (poméxa)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Scottish Gaelic amaladh, bacadh
  • amaladhsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • bacadhsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Slovak prekážka
  • prekážkasomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Spanish obstáculo, óbice
  • obstáculosomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • óbicesomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • trabasomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • estorbosomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • contumeriasomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • perequesomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • valladarsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • cortapisasomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Swedish hinder
  • hindersomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Tagalog balakid, harang
  • balakidsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • harangsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Tamil தடை, இடையூறு
  • தடை (taṭai)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • இடையூறு (iṭaiyūṟu)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Thai อุปสรรค, ขวากหนาม
  • อุปสรรค (ùp-bpà-sàk)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • ขวากหนาม (kwàak-nǎam)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • มาร (maan)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Turkish engel, ket
  • engelsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • ketsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • mahzursomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • manisomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • setsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Ukrainian перешко́да, перепо́на
  • перешко́да (pereškóda)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • перепо́на (perepóna)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • прити́чина (prytýčyna)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • перегоро́да (perehoróda)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Urdu رُکاوَٹ
  • رُکاوَٹ (rukāvaṭ)something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Vietnamese bước cản, chướng ngại
  • bước cảnsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • chướng ngạisomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
  • trở ngạisomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress
Welsh rhwystr
  • rhwystrsomething that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Caseboltcostable
Cite this entry
APA

obstacle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obstacle

MLA

“obstacle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obstacle. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “obstacle,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obstacle.

Source: obstacle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.