as in obstacles
something that makes movement or progress difficult
the many hurdles he had to overcome on the road to success
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Recent Examples of hurdles
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 12 Feb. 2026
Industries with heavy regulatory hurdles, where adoption will be slowed by compliance, liability, and institutional inertia.
—Matt Shumer, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
That round of talks, in Abu Dhabi, yielded the first prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia in five months and a vague agreement to continue negotiating, but no apparent progress on the major hurdles to a wider peace deal.
—Mariia Kashchenko, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
People living far from their birthplaces face long-distance bureaucratic hurdles to get them.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Feb. 2026
Besides Bolton’s pending appeal to civil court, there are still a few more hurdles developers will need to face before construction can begin.
—Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 11 Feb. 2026
Funding is scarce, research moves slowly, and regulatory hurdles make even the most promising ideas difficult to advance.
—Brad Quick, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2026
Raised in a rural village four hours from the Algerian capital, Khelif sold scrap copper as a young girl to fund her training, overcoming significant economic and societal hurdles.
—Kara Fox, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
Even with the rapidly decreasing price of launching things into space, there are incredible technological and financial hurdles that stand in the way of exploiting resources in orbit.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 4 Feb. 2026
Noun
Long charging times and limited ranges are still two major hurdles that deter many potential EV buyers.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 12 Feb. 2026
Industries with heavy regulatory hurdles, where adoption will be slowed by compliance, liability, and institutional inertia.
—Matt Shumer, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
That round of talks, in Abu Dhabi, yielded the first prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia in five months and a vague agreement to continue negotiating, but no apparent progress on the major hurdles to a wider peace deal.
—Mariia Kashchenko, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
People living far from their birthplaces face long-distance bureaucratic hurdles to get them.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Feb. 2026
Besides Bolton’s pending appeal to civil court, there are still a few more hurdles developers will need to face before construction can begin.
—Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 11 Feb. 2026
Funding is scarce, research moves slowly, and regulatory hurdles make even the most promising ideas difficult to advance.
—Brad Quick, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2026
Raised in a rural village four hours from the Algerian capital, Khelif sold scrap copper as a young girl to fund her training, overcoming significant economic and societal hurdles.
—Kara Fox, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
Even with the rapidly decreasing price of launching things into space, there are incredible technological and financial hurdles that stand in the way of exploiting resources in orbit.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurdles
Noun
-
While officials have described the talks as constructive, major obstacles remain, chief among them the future of territory in eastern Ukraine where Moscow has shown little sign of softening its demands.—
Freddie Clayton,
NBC news,
8 Feb. 2026
-
When the car finally got moving, protesters began throwing obstacles in its path — Lime scooters, bicycles, seemingly anything that might trigger the car’s automatic anti-collision braking system.—
Evan Minsker,
Rolling Stone,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Tebow practically leaps to his feet to say hello.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Once the film leaps ahead to Paris in the late 1800s, Jones appears as a dandified version of his princely self.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Reducing meetings to once a month and limiting public comment create barriers.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Last year’s blitz of bills, capping off years of gradual legislative efforts to remove regulatory barriers to building dense housing across California, has, in Wicks’ view, teed up this next big swing.—
Ben Christopher,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Becoming a master of quadruple jumps that no one else can land, rising with all the ease of a young Michael Jordan—before landing on a pair of butcher knives, on ice.—
Stephanie Bai,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2026
-
No other men’s skater attempted three quadruple jumps Sunday.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In contrast, the ABF crystal, designed and grown by Chinese scientists over more than a decade, overcomes many of these obstacles.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Feb. 2026
-
After a sluggish start, Texas overcomes a 14-point deficit to tie the game before OU's Xzayvier Brown hits a 3-pointer to give his team the halftime lead.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Check slopes for bare spots, holes and obstructions, like rocks, fences or poles.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Flat roofs with parapets (side walls), stepped roofs, saw-tooth roofs, and roofs with chimneys and other obstructions on top can collect snow in an unbalanced manner, the agency said.—
Bailey Allen,
The Providence Journal,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The forthcoming new season skips ahead five years from where season two left off.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Feb. 2026
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From a few rows back on my right another guitarist makes eye contact, skips the first A chord of the pre-chorus, and frisbees a pack of nickel-wound DR Pure Blues through the air.—
Jeff Miller,
Rolling Stone,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The towers are also able to reach a capacity factor of about 32%, which bests that of flat panels, which come in around 22%.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
29 Oct. 2025
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And China now bests the United States in 57 out of 64 critical and emerging technologies, per a 2024 study.—
Mircea Geoană,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hurdles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurdles. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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