as in obstacle
something that makes movement or progress difficult
without the encumbrance of a heavy backpack, I could sprint along the trail
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of encumbrance
But corporate apathy wasn’t the project’s only encumbrance.
—
Joan Gaylord, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2025
Since the Upper Sioux Agency land no longer provides those opportunities, the encumbrance must be placed on other public land of equal or greater market value.
—Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 6 Aug. 2025
What the land bank offers to buyers is a clean title free of liens and other encumbrances, according to Jessica Caffrey, executive director.
—Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2025
Meanwhile, many of the same people were evicted from their houses as landowners used the crisis to clear off these human encumbrances and free their fields for more profitable pasturage.
—Fintan O'Toole, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for encumbrance
Joan Gaylord, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2025
Since the Upper Sioux Agency land no longer provides those opportunities, the encumbrance must be placed on other public land of equal or greater market value.
—Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 6 Aug. 2025
What the land bank offers to buyers is a clean title free of liens and other encumbrances, according to Jessica Caffrey, executive director.
—Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2025
Meanwhile, many of the same people were evicted from their houses as landowners used the crisis to clear off these human encumbrances and free their fields for more profitable pasturage.
—Fintan O'Toole, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for encumbrance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encumbrance
Noun
-
The deadly mass shooting at a school in British Columbia came as Canadian authorities face significant obstacles in rolling out a nationwide firearms buyback that is mired in practical and logistical complications.—
Max Saltman,
CNN Money,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Over the next 10 years, the Goo Goo Dolls would follow a trajectory of seemingly insurmountable obstacles and increasingly unlikely triumphs that more closely resembles a fictional underdog team from a Disney movie than a rock band.—
Sam Sodomsky,
Pitchfork,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Stier / Getty Images Earlier today in the men’s figure skating final, fellow American Maxim Naumov had to skate through a different kind of mental hurdle.—
The Sports Desk,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
-
In 2026, residents of Mathews, Mint Hill and Pineville face several specific barriers to health care access ranging from escalating costs to significant geographic and logistical hurdles.—
Mary Ramsey,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Guevara and two colleagues, then-detectives Michael Mason and Ernest Halvorson, then orchestrated a frame-up by coercing one witness to identify Rios by beating him with a phone book and flashlight, and another by threatening to charge him with obstruction, according to the plaintiffs’ allegations.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
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Prosecutors say a civilian and a military reservist have been indicted for bribery and obstruction of justice, with an undisclosed number of others also arrested for placing Polymarket wagers based on classified information, according to a statement released Thursday by officials in Tel Aviv.—
Bobby Allyn,
NPR,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Well, there was a great deal left in me, in an agony of embarrassment looking around for that hole on the floor to crawl into.—
Natalia Sánchez Loayza,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
-
But anomaly detection may have prevented embarrassments like the one at OPERA.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Encumbrance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encumbrance. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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