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Noun: obstacle  ób-sti-kul
  1. Something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted
    "lack of imagination is an obstacle to one's advancement"; "the poverty of a district is an obstacle to good education";
    - obstruction
     
  2. An obstruction that stands in the way (and must be removed, surmounted or circumvented)

Derived forms: obstacles

Type of: balk, baulk [Brit], check, deterrent, handicap, hinderance, hindrance, impediment, impedimenta, obstructer, obstruction, obstructor

Encyclopedia: Obstacle