as in obstacle
something that makes movement or progress difficult
tough going for the burros on the canyon trail, even without the added impediment of heavy loads
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of impediment
As Republicans control the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, the courts have become one of the main impediments to the Trump administration's decisions.
—
James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
Israel faces three impediments to knocking out these facilities altogether.
—Robert A. Pape, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
Trump Freezes Cash for Charging Network One major impediment to EV adoption is the availability of chargers, so a 2021 infrastructure bill signed by Biden allocated $5 billion over five years for a nationwide EV charging network.
—Emily Forlini, PC Magazine, 26 June 2025
But Beijing is much more single-minded than Washington about the future of relations between the two countries: Xi appears to see Washington as the primary impediment to China’s rise, and ties to the U.S. as a vulnerability best eliminated.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 14 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for impediment
James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
Israel faces three impediments to knocking out these facilities altogether.
—Robert A. Pape, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
Trump Freezes Cash for Charging Network One major impediment to EV adoption is the availability of chargers, so a 2021 infrastructure bill signed by Biden allocated $5 billion over five years for a nationwide EV charging network.
—Emily Forlini, PC Magazine, 26 June 2025
But Beijing is much more single-minded than Washington about the future of relations between the two countries: Xi appears to see Washington as the primary impediment to China’s rise, and ties to the U.S. as a vulnerability best eliminated.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 14 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for impediment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impediment
Noun
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Extreme heat can also be an obstacle to exercising, spending time in nature, and socializing, all of which can make people feel good and also double as important coping mechanisms for emotional distress.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
26 July 2025
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This pattern of persecution, especially when combined with ongoing habitat loss, has likely contributed to low recruitment and remains a major obstacle to population recovery.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
26 July 2025
Noun
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Scaling its use requires overcoming hurdles related to the transportation of bulky materials, establishing local milling facilities and securing access to renewable energy.—
Sahit Muja,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
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One reason for the unexpectedly slow pace is that the Chinese companies have not cleared a key engineering hurdle.—
Selam Gebrekidan,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
Noun
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Julie was additionally convicted of obstruction of justice and wire fraud.—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
25 July 2025
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Singer pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
24 July 2025
Noun
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The episode marks another embarrassment for the Secret Service, following a beleaguered year for the organization.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
29 July 2025
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One student talked about the vulnerability and embarrassment of having to go to a TA's office hours for help and the flexibility of having multi-hour tutoring sessions available via ChatGPT at any time of the day.—
Kyle Orland,
ArsTechnica,
29 July 2025
Noun
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According to WisDOT, as part of the planning process, noise analyses identified areas where the barriers would reduce traffic noise by at least eight decibels.—
Adrienne Davis,
jsonline.com,
10 July 2025
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Others have built barriers to protect vulnerable neighborhoods.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impediment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impediment. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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