Library / English Dictionary

IMPEDE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Block passage through

Example:

obstruct the path

Synonyms:

block; close up; impede; jam; obstruct; obturate; occlude

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "impede" is one way to...):

hinder; impede (be a hindrance or obstacle to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "impede"):

back up; choke; choke off; clog; clog up; congest; foul (become or cause to become obstructed)

bar; barricade; block; block off; block up; blockade; stop (render unsuitable for passage)

earth up; land up (block with earth, as after a landslide)

block out; screen (prevent from entering)

dam; dam up (obstruct with, or as if with, a dam)

tie up (restrain from moving or operating normally)

asphyxiate; choke; stifle; suffocate (impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of)

barricade (prevent access to by barricading)

barricade; barricado (block off with barricades)

block off; blockade (obstruct access to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

impediment (any structure that makes progress difficult)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be a hindrance or obstacle to

Example:

She is impeding the progress of our project

Synonyms:

hinder; impede

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "impede" is one way to...):

keep; prevent (stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "impede"):

block; close up; impede; jam; obstruct; obturate; occlude (block passage through)

inhibit (limit, block, or decrease the action or function of)

repress (impede or hinder the natural development or self-expression of)

interfere (come between so as to be hindrance or obstacle)

set back (slow down the progress of; hinder)

hobble (hamper the action or progress of)

stunt (check the growth or development of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

impediment (something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Cyanovirin-N binds to the sugar moieties on the HIV particle and impairs the binding of virion-associated gp120 to cell-associated CD4 on mucosal surfaces and impedes membrane fusion.

(Cyanovirin-N, NCI Thesaurus)

A device consisting of flexible biocompatible membranes, implantable in the cardio-vascular system, designed to prevent retrograde flow of blood but not impede a forward flow.

(Cusp Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

A heart disorder in which the pericardial sac becomes thickened and fibrotic, tightening the myocardium and impeding the normal myocardial function.

(Constrictive Pericarditis, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by a thickened and fibrotic pericardial sac; these fibrotic changes impede normal myocardial function by restricting myocardial muscle action.

(Constrictive Pericarditis, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

Apoptosis Inhibitor Genes encode Apoptosis Inhibitor proteins, which impede the initiation, progress, or rate of apoptosis.

(Apoptosis Inhibitor Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

A protein that either promotes or impedes the initiation, progress, or rate of apoptosis.

(Apoptosis Regulator, NCI Thesaurus)

She caught him by the arm, but her clinging to it merely impeded his effort.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

MUC1-targeted peptide GO-203-2C interacts with oncoprotein MUC1 C-terminal subunit on the cell surface, thereby impeding cell-cell interactions, signaling, and metastasis.

(MUC1-targeted Peptide GO-203-2C, NCI Thesaurus)

A protein that impedes the initiation, progress, or rate of apoptosis.

(Apoptosis Inhibitor, NCI Thesaurus)

This unfortunate state of affairs has severely impeded treatment development, leaving the many people who suffer from depression with limited options.

(Forty-Four Genomic Variants Linked to Major Depression, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)