Hindrance

//ˈhɪndɹəns// noun

noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Something which hinders: something that holds back or causes problems with something else.

    "High-heeled shoes may be fashionable, but they can also be a hindrance to walking."

  2. 2
    the act of hindering or obstructing or impeding wordnet
  3. 3
    The state or act of hindering something.

    "Your hindrance of this process will not be tolerated."

  4. 4
    any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome wordnet
  5. 5
    something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
encumbrancehitchimpedimentinterruptionafterthoughtarrest

Example

More examples

"Lack of money is a serious hindrance in their fight to conquer cancer."

Etymology

From Middle English hinderance, hinderaunce, hindraunce, hynderaunce, hynderawnce, hynderawns, hyndrance; equivalent to hinder + -ance.

Related phrases

steric hindrance

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.