impediment
a hindrance or obstacle that makes progress or movement difficult
Word origin: From Latin impedimentum, a hindrance, from impedire, to entangle the feet.
Impediment in a sentence
Here are example sentences showing impediment in a sentence.
His lack of formal credentials proved to be an impediment to advancing in the field.
A lack of reliable data proved the chief impediment to the study's conclusions.
Quick GRE check
3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?
Verbal · Text Completion
The historian argued that the empire's collapse was not blank but the predictable outcome of decades of fiscal mismanagement that contemporaries had simply refused to acknowledge.
Using “impediment” well
An impediment is an obstacle that makes progress or movement difficult. It can be abstract, like a legal barrier, or concrete, and the term speech impediment names a physical difficulty in speaking.
More GRE words starting with I
a person who attacks cherished beliefs or established institutions
attacking or undermining traditional beliefs and institutions
guided by ideals rather than by practical considerations
a peculiar habit or feature distinctive to an individual
excessively or blindly devoted to something or someone
extreme admiration or worship of someone or something, often to an excessive degree
to admire or revere someone to an excessive degree
charmingly peaceful and free of trouble
Questions about “impediment”
See these words the way the GRE tests them.
Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.