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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Obstruction \Ob*struc"tion\, noun [L. obstructio.]
1. The act of obstructing, or state of being obstructed.
2. That which obstructs or impedes; an obstacle; an impediment; a hindrance.
A popular assembly free from obstruction. --Swift.
3. The condition of having the natural powers obstructed in their usual course; the arrest of the vital functions; death. [Poetic]
To die, and go we know not where, To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot. --Shak.
Syn: {Obstacle}; bar; barrier; impediment; clog; check; hindrance.
Usage: {Obstruction}, {Obstacle}. The difference between these words is that indicated by their etymology; an obstacle is something standing in the way; an obstruction is something put in the way. Obstacle implies more fixedness and is the stronger word. We remove obstructions; we surmount obstacles.
Disparity in age seems a greater obstacle to an intimate friendship than inequality of fortune. --Collier.
The king expected to meet with all the obstructions and difficulties his enraged enemies could lay in his way. --Clarendon.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
obstruction
noun
1: any structure that makes progress difficult [syn: {obstructor}, {obstructer}, {impediment}, {impedimenta}]
2: the state or condition of being obstructed [syn: {blockage}]
3: something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted; "lack of immagination 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" [syn: {obstacle}]
4: the act of obstructing; "obstruction of justice"
5: getting in someone's way
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
147 Moby Thesaurus words for "obstruction": afterthought, arrest, arrestation, arrestment, bar, barrier, bind, blank wall, blind alley, blind gut, block, blockade, blockage, blocking, bottleneck, bureaucratic delay, catch, cecum, cessation, check, checking, choking, choking off, clog, clogging, closing up, closure, congestion, constipation, constraint, constriction, cordon, costiveness, cramp, cul-de-sac, curtain, dead end, deceleration, delay, delayage, delayed reaction, detainment, detention, determent, deterrent, difficulty, double take, drag, dragging, drawback, ease-off, ease-up, embolism, embolus, fixation, flagging, foot-dragging, forbiddance, forbidding, gorge, halt, halting, hamper, hampering, hang-up, hazard, hindering, hindrance, hitch, holdback, holdup, hurdle, impasse, impediment, impeding, infarct, infarction, inhibition, interference, interim, interruption, jam, joker, lag, lagging, let, letdown, letup, limitation, limiting, logjam, minus acceleration, moratorium, mountain, negativism, nuisance value, objection, obstacle, obstipation, obstructionism, obstructive, occlusion, one small difficulty, opposition, paperasserie, pause, proscription, red tape, red-tapeism, red-tapery, repression, reprieve, resistance, respite, restraint, restriction, retardance, retardation, retardment, rub, sealing off, setback, slack-up, slackening, slow-up, slowdown, slowing, slowing down, slowness, slowup, snag, squeeze, stay, stay of execution, stop, stoppage, stopping, stranglehold, strangulation, stricture, stumbling block, stumbling stone, suppression, suspension, tie-up, time lag, wait
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