OBSTRUCTION • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Obstruction

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/əbstrˈəkʃən/ Listen

noun

Obstruction n.

The act of obstructing, or state of being obstructed.

That which obstructs or impedes; an obstacle; an impediment; a hindrance. "A popular assembly free from obstruction."

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."

Synonyms: Obstacle; bar; barrier; impediment; clog; check; hindrance. 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." "The king expected to meet with all the obstructions and difficulties his enraged enemies could lay in his way."

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Etymology of 'Obstruction'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Obstruction" Quotes from Famous Books

... forgetful is the high gods' doom Against the sons of carnage: all too long Seems the unjust to prosper and be strong, Till the dark Furies come, And smite with stern reversal all his home, Down into dim obstruction—he is gone, And help and hope, among ...

— The House of Atreus • AEschylus

... choice of position for the dam of a reservoir, supposing that it is intended to impound the water by throwing an obstruction across a valley, it may be premised that to impound the largest quantity of water with the minimum outlay, the most favorable conditions are present where a more or less broad valley flanked by steep hills suddenly narrows at its lower end, forming a gorge which can be ...

— Scientific American Supplement, No. 595, May 28, 1887 • Various

... could not. To question it was to surrender his wife; to despair was to abandon her to her fate. So, as a wrestler strains against a mighty antagonist, his will strained and tugged in supreme stress against the impalpable obstruction of space, and, fighting despair with despair, doggedly held to its purpose, and sought to keep his faculties unremittingly streaming to one end. Finally, as this tremendous effort, which made minutes seem hours, went ...

— At Pinney's Ranch - 1898 • Edward Bellamy

... river, it could not have been dragged over the bar. It is true that later on, when, on account of the expansion of the gases, it would again rise to the surface, the current would bear it away, and it would then be irrevocably lost down the stream, a long way beyond the obstruction. But this purely physical effect would not take place ...

— Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon • Jules Verne

... so forth, is not conceived as resulting directly from an increase of solar heat which the fire has magically generated; it is merely an indirect result obtained by freeing the reproductive powers of plants and animals from the fatal obstruction of witchcraft. And what is true of the reproduction of plants and animals may hold good also of the fertility of the human sexes. We have seen that the bonfires are supposed to promote marriage and to procure offspring for childless couples. This happy effect ...

— Balder The Beautiful, Vol. I. • Sir James George Frazer

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