The Collaborative International Dictionary
Impediment \Im*ped"i*ment\, n. [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.
--Shak.
Impediment in speech, a defect which prevents distinct utterance.
Syn: Hindrance; obstruction; obstacle; difficulty; incumbrance.
Usage: 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.