as in hurdles
something that makes movement or progress difficult
stumbling on all the obstacles along the path
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Recent Examples of obstacles
Crews can drive directly into rivers or lakes without installing additional equipment, allowing the vehicle to continue moving even when water obstacles stand in the way.
—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
2 July 2026
Remember, your perspective shapes your reality—choose to see opportunities over obstacles.
—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2026
But the journey doesn’t go smoothly, as Odysseus and his men encounter the cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, and an enchantress named Circe, among other obstacles.
—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
1 July 2026
But the obstacles blocking James from joining the Wolves are, regrettably, manifold — money being the first and foremost.
—
Anthony Bettin,
CBS News,
1 July 2026
This premium, high-end hybrid robot vacuum and mop features an innovative self-lifting chassis that adjusts in real-time to climb over small thresholds and obstacles.
—
Cierra Cowan,
PC Magazine,
1 July 2026
There was an element of cynicism, but not on the part of determined prosecutors who overcame obstacles and brought the case to guilty pleas by three defendants and the conviction on 21 counts of the public official who ignited the scandal.
—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
27 June 2026
But obstacles veered her away from art for years.
—
Sophie Lindberg,
Kansas City Star,
27 June 2026
And that’s to say nothing of the complex political obstacles to the whole idea of planetary defense.
—
Govert Schilling,
Scientific American,
27 June 2026
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
2 July 2026
Remember, your perspective shapes your reality—choose to see opportunities over obstacles.
—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2026
But the journey doesn’t go smoothly, as Odysseus and his men encounter the cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, and an enchantress named Circe, among other obstacles.
—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
1 July 2026
But the obstacles blocking James from joining the Wolves are, regrettably, manifold — money being the first and foremost.
—
Anthony Bettin,
CBS News,
1 July 2026
This premium, high-end hybrid robot vacuum and mop features an innovative self-lifting chassis that adjusts in real-time to climb over small thresholds and obstacles.
—
Cierra Cowan,
PC Magazine,
1 July 2026
There was an element of cynicism, but not on the part of determined prosecutors who overcame obstacles and brought the case to guilty pleas by three defendants and the conviction on 21 counts of the public official who ignited the scandal.
—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
27 June 2026
But obstacles veered her away from art for years.
—
Sophie Lindberg,
Kansas City Star,
27 June 2026
And that’s to say nothing of the complex political obstacles to the whole idea of planetary defense.
—
Govert Schilling,
Scientific American,
27 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obstacles
Noun
-
Ro said interactive chatbots have technological hurdles to overcome, such as a mismatch between their verbal comments and their facial expressions.
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Meanwhile, the technological and financial hurdles of fighting the sonic boom appeared insurmountable.
Noun
-
The alternating placements of the piles/objects are very precise, which creates a series of chicanes, indicating they are not intended as obstructions but rather to prevent rapid ingress and egress by any vehicle toward the tunnels.
-
Recent emergencies have included animals falling off a boat, lacerations from dog fights on the beach, clamshell ingestion, sand impaction, which can cause obstructions in the digestive system, and of course Lyme disease.
Noun
-
Families, educators and advocates described barriers to accessing proper support and services.
-
The Selma-to-Montgomery marches galvanized passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which did away with most barriers such as poll taxes and other forms of voter discrimination targeting Black Americans in the Deep South.
Noun
-
Sitting around a table in the soundstage where the pilot for I Love Lucy was filmed, the six of them tailored the roles to the actors and infused the script with arguments, embarrassments, and confessions from their own relationships.
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The order to whitewash America’s historic sites of anything less than rosy about the nation’s past has led to some predictable embarrassments.
Cite this Entry
“Obstacles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obstacles. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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