Obstructive

//əbˈstɹʌk.tɪv// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    One who obstructs something.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Causing obstructions.

    "I wanted to see his report on me, but my manager was being obstructive."

Adjective
  1. 1
    preventing movement wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
adverseblockblockadebottleneckbrawlercatch

Example

More examples

"Because it inflames upper-airway tissues, smoking often leads to obstructive sleep apnoea. Alcohol and sedatives can worsen apnoea as well; acting as muscle relaxants, they make the airway smaller."

Etymology

From obstruct + -ive.

Related phrases

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

More for "obstructive"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

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