as in obstacles
something that makes movement or progress difficult
the only stumbling block to our move across the country was finding someone to adopt our cats
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Recent Examples of stumbling blocks
One of the stumbling blocks — the principal stumbling block — to his doing more with Presley was the boy’s manager, Bob Neal, who seemed infuriatingly unsusceptible to persuasion, promotion, or even recognition of his own (let alone his artist’s) ever-increasing opportunities.
—
Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025
Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbling blocks
Noun
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Similarly, Arizona’s native flora and fauna have their own obstacles to survival in one of the world’s most unforgiving landscapes.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Some cities install physical barriers like planters, bike racks, or other obstacles, to ensure compliance.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Artest has aspirations to set the program record and win the state championship in the 300 hurdles.—
Michael Osipoff,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Back in 2012, Tesla’s board offered him a deal based on production and stock price hurdles.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In 2025, Roborock launched a vacuum cleaner with a robotic arm for moving socks and other obstructions out of the way.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
21 Aug. 2025
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The Buck is collecting data to identify any obstructions to the safe navigation of traffic entering or exiting the Port of Baltimore via the Fort McHenry Federal Channel.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Don Felder, a second cousin who now helps manage Gibson’s estate and legacy, grew up hearing her tell stories breaking the barriers in tennis and then in golf.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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The Speak No Evil star is bringing his directorial debut California Schemin’ to the Toronto Film Festival for a world premiere, and his hip hop hoax movie reveals why Scots speaking with a different accent from the English face key barriers to success down south.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumbling blocks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbling%20blocks. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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