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Webster 1913 Edition


Impediment

Im-ped′i-ment

,
Noun.
[L.
impedimentum
: cf. F.
impediment
.]
That which impedes or hinders progress, motion, activity, or effect.
Thus far into the bowels of the land
Have we marched on without
impediment
.
Shakespeare
Syn. – Hindrance; obstruction; obstacle; difficulty; incumbrance.
Impediment
,
Obstacle
,
Difficulty
,
Hindrance
. An impediment literally strikes against our feet, checking our progress, and we remove it. An obstacle rises before us in our path, and we surmount or remove it. A difficulty sets before us something hard to be done, and we encounter it and overcome it. A hindrance holds us back for a time, but we break away from it.
The eloquence of Demosthenes was to Philip of Macedon, a
difficulty
to be met with his best resources, an
obstacle
to his own ambition, and an
impediment
in his political career.
C. J. Smith.

Im-ped′i-ment

,
Verb.
T.
To impede.
[R.]
Bp. Reynolds.

Webster 1828 Edition


Impediment

IMPED'IMENT

,
Noun.
[L. impedimentum.] That which hinders progress or motion; hinderance; obstruction; obstacle; applicable to every subject, physical or moral. Bad roads are impediments in marching and travelling. Idleness and dissipation are impediments to improvement. The cares of life are impediments to the progress of vital religion.
1.
That which prevents distinct articulation; as an impediment in speech.

IMPED'IMENT

,
Verb.
T.
To impede. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024


impediment

impediment

English

Noun

impediment (plural impediments)

  1. A hindrance; that which impedes or hinders progress.
    • Shakespeare
      Thus far into the bowels of the land / Have we marched on without impediment.
    • 1818, Mary Shelley, chapter 2, in Frankenstein:
      I had gazed upon the fortifications and impediments that seemed to keep human beings from entering the citadel of nature, and rashly and ignorantly I had repined.
    Working in a noisy factory left him with a slight hearing impediment.
  2. (chiefly in the plural) Baggage, especially that of an army; impedimenta

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