Synonyms of obstructing

obstructing

verb

present participle of obstruct

1

as in impeding

to create difficulty for the work or activity of

this would go much faster if you would stop obstructing me with your constant interruptions

Synonyms & Similar Words

• impeding
• hampering
• hindering
• embarrassing
• blocking
• inhibiting
• delaying
• handicapping
• stymieing
• disrupting
• clogging
• restraining
• interfering (with)
• encumbering
• handcuffing
• cramping
• fettering
• hobbling
• constraining
• shackling
• tying up
• thwarting
• holding back
• short-circuiting
• curbing
• trammeling
• tying
• hog-tying
• manacling
• retarding
• frustrating
• retaining
• checking
• stifling
• giving a hard time
• binding
• arresting
• reining
• cramping one's style
• balking
• blockading
• braking
• holding up
• barricading
• sabotaging
• tethering
• strangling
• choking
• chaining
• leashing
• derailing
• confining
• baffling
• roadblocking
• foiling
• smothering
• bogging (down)
• suffocating
• haltering
• stumping
• miring
• repressing
• muzzling
• suppressing
• hedging (in)
• hemming (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• aiding
• assisting
• helping
• facilitating
• opening
• clearing
• freeing
• releasing
• liberating
• promoting
• unclogging
• loosening
• unplugging
• encouraging
• furthering
• smoothing
• unstopping
• making way
• untying

2

as in blocking

to prevent passage through by filling with something

at the moment the city's only tunnel between downtown and the airport is obstructed by an overturned tanker truck

Synonyms & Similar Words

• blocking
• jamming
• occluding
• filling
• choking
• clogging
• congesting
• flooding
• stopping (up)
• damming
• plugging (up)
• clotting
• gumming (up)
• packing
• stuffing
• corking
• stoppering
• overwhelming
• silting
• bunging
• inundating
• gridlocking
• swamping
• spiling
• furring
• stoppling
• glutting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• freeing
• clearing
• opening (up)
• unblocking
• unplugging
• excavating
• unclogging
• emptying
• unstopping
• scooping (out)
• hollowing (out)
• lightening

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of obstructing

Hospitals in the north lack health workers, medicines and equipment, while ambulance services are severely limited and insecurity is obstructing medical deliveries, Tedros said. — ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

After midnight on the eve of the court hearing's first day Tuesday, prosecutors sought to add new charges of obstructing Congress with an unsigned and unsworn superseding complaint — a maneuver the magistrate judge said was improper and unheard of. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026

The suspect was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of a felony charge of making criminal threats, and misdemeanor allegations of exhibiting a deadly weapon and resisting or obstructing a peace officer. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 28 Oct. 2026

Abiy's office accused the TPLF of obstructing the agreement and said that the latest fighting ended in its defeat. — Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026

Abiy’s office accused the TPLF of obstructing the agreement and said the latest fighting ended in its defeat. — Khaled Kazziha, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026

Officials said Wooten is charged with burglary, resisting arrest and obstructing an officer. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026

One deputy was caught directly under branches and the tree's trunk, but was spared in part by the SUV obstructing the fall. — Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026

The vehicle was stopped for a few minutes perpendicular to a snowy residential Minneapolis street, obstructing the flow of traffic. — Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026