HINDERANCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does hinderance mean? 

• HINDERANCE (noun)
  The noun HINDERANCE has 3 senses:

1. something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress

2. any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome

3. the act of hindering or obstructing or impeding

  Familiarity information: HINDERANCE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HINDERANCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

balk; baulk; check; deterrent; handicap; hinderance; hindrance; impediment

Hypernyms ("hinderance" is a kind of...):

difficulty (a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hinderance"):

albatross; millstone ((figurative) something that hinders or handicaps)

bind (something that hinders as if with bonds)

diriment impediment ((canon law) an impediment that invalidates a marriage (such as the existence of a prior marriage))

drag (something that slows or delays progress)

obstacle; obstruction (something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted)

straitjacket (anything immaterial that severely hinders or confines)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

encumbrance; hinderance; hindrance; hitch; incumbrance; interference; preventative; preventive

Hypernyms ("hinderance" is a kind of...):

impediment; impedimenta; obstructer; obstruction; obstructor (any structure that makes progress difficult)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hinderance"):

clog (any object that acts as a hindrance or obstruction)

speed bump (a hindrance to speeding created by a crosswise ridge in the surface of a roadway)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of hindering or obstructing or impeding

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

hinderance; hindrance; interference

Hypernyms ("hinderance" is a kind of...):

act; deed; human action; human activity (something that people do or cause to happen)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hinderance"):

foiling; frustration; thwarting (an act of hindering someone's plans or efforts)

antagonism ((biochemistry) interference in or inhibition of the physiological action of a chemical substance by another having a similar structure)

obstruction (the act of obstructing)

complication (the act or process of complicating)

deterrence (the act or process of discouraging actions or preventing occurrences by instilling fear or doubt or anxiety)

bar; prevention (the act of preventing)