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

Marcos Moreno, 61, has been charged with one count each of failure to report a crash resulting in death, leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death, and obstructing justice. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

That was followed by Foster City police stating Thursday that a person has been booked on suspicion of causing a fire that injured firefighters, and obstructing police and fire investigators probing the blaze. — Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2026

Other times, there may be vegetation partially obstructing the stop sign. — Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2026

The man was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, obstructing law enforcement and committing a felony while out on bail. — Sacbee.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Former Portage Mayor James Snyder wants a federal appeals court to dismiss his case stemming from his November 2016 indictment, which included a charge of obstructing the IRS. — Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026

The New Jersey facility has repeatedly been accused by state and local inspectors of obstructing health and safety inspections and has been the site of ongoing protests and detainee hunger strikes over food quality, overcrowding and medical care. — Emma Bussey , Bill Melugin, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Yachua Mauricio Flores, 23, of Lincoln Heights pleaded guilty in late April to one count of obstructing, impeding and interfering with law enforcement officers during civil disorder, the Department of Justice said in a news release. — Seamus Bozeman, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026

Watson was imprisoned in Greenland for five months in 2024 after being arrested on a Japanese warrant over charges of obstructing a whaling ship in 2010. — ABC News, 1 Aug. 2026