Obstruct
[əb'strʌkt]
Definition
(verb.) block passage through; 'obstruct the path'.
(verb.) shut out from view or get in the way so as to hide from sight; 'The thick curtain blocked the action on the stage'; 'The trees obstruct my view of the mountains'.
(verb.) hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of; 'His brother blocked him at every turn'.
Checker: Noelle--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To block up; to stop up or close, as a way or passage; to place an obstacle in, or fill with obstacles or impediments that prevent or hinder passing; as, to obstruct a street; to obstruct the channels of the body.
(v. t.) To be, or come, in the way of; to hinder from passing; to stop; to impede; to retard; as, the bar in the harbor obstructs the passage of ships; clouds obstruct the light of the sun; unwise rules obstruct legislation.
Checked by Danny
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Close, bar, stop, blockade, barricade, block up, dam up.[2]. Hinder, impede, oppose, retard.
Edited by Davy
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Bar, block, choke, hinder, impede, interrupt, retard, clog
ANT:Open, clear, pave, facilitate, expedite, further, advance, promote, accelerate,aid
Checker: Percy
Definition
v.t. to block up to hinder from passing to retard.—ns. Obstruc′ter Obstruc′tor one who obstructs; Obstruc′tion act of obstructing: that which hinders progress or action: opposition esp. in a legislative assembly; Obstruc′tionist.—adj. Obstruc′tive tending to obstruct: hindering.—n. one who opposes progress.—adv. Obstruct′ively.—adj. Ob′struent obstructing: blocking up.—n. (med.) anything that obstructs esp. in the passages of the body.
Editor: Patrick
Examples
- The absence of all valves renders it very suitable for draining marshes, and for other similar purposes, as the muddy water and suspended matters will not obstruct its action. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- But Jenny, my dear,' said Riah, breaking off, 'I promised that you should pursue your questions, and I obstruct them. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- The exclusive privileges of corporations obstruct it from one place to another, even in the same employment. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- In crossing the valley he burned the bridge over Chattanooga Creek, and did all he could to obstruct the roads behind him. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- It is those like thee who obstruct all effort to win this war, Gomez said to the staff officer. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- General Butler had, in advance, loaded some vessels with stone ready to be sunk so as to obstruct the channel in an emergency. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- It does not obstruct the industry of the people; it subjects the landlord to no other inconveniency besides the unavoidable one of paying the tax. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- This is because sound is reflected when it strikes a large obstructing surface. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- No individual, perhaps, ever possessed a juster understanding, or was so seldom obstructed in the use of it by indolence, enthusiasm, or authority. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- The rebels had obstructed the navigation of Yazoo Pass and the Coldwater by felling trees into them. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- It is the labour of artificers and manufacturers only of which the free circulation is obstructed by corporation laws. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- High above this to the right, and much nearer thitherward than the Quiet Woman Inn, the blurred contour of Rainbarrow obstructed the sky. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- I was like a wild beast that had broken the toils; destroying the objects that obstructed me, and ranging through the wood with a stag-like swiftness. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- I loved him well--too well not to smite out of my path even Jealousy herself, when she would have obstructed a kind farewell. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- They shivered in the emotional gale; they obstructed and the gale became destructive. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Exercise should precede meals, not immediately follow them; the first promotes, the latter, unless moderate, obstructs digestion. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- The statute of apprenticeship obstructs the free circulation of labour from one employment to another, even in the same place. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- The difficulty of obtaining settlements obstructs even that of common labour. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- It obstructs the communication of heat from the furnace to the water, and the metal is thus liable to become red-hot. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- But Muscle Shoals is not navigable, and below them again is another shoal which also obstructs navigation. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Whatever either promotes or obstructs the one, necessarily promotes or obstructs the other. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
Typed by Emile