impediments to progress

Meanings

1. 1phrasepluralformal

   Things that slow down or block improvement, development, or forward movement.

   Grammar: Used as a plural noun phrase; it can be the subject or object of a sentence. For a single obstacle, say 'an impediment to progress'.

   Patterns

   • impediments to progress in something
   • remove impediments to progress
   • be an impediment to progress

   Poor infrastructure and lack of funding are major impediments to progress in rural education.

   The new committee was set up to identify and remove impediments to progress.

   Bureaucratic delays have long been seen as impediments to progress in the region.

2. 2phrasepluralformal

   Specific barriers that prevent a person or group from advancing or succeeding.

   Grammar: Often followed by 'for' when specifying the affected person or group, e.g. 'impediments to progress for women'.

   Patterns

   • impediments to progress for someone
   • overcome impediments to progress

   Language barriers can be serious impediments to progress for immigrants.

   The report highlighted the social and economic impediments to progress for young people.

Common combinations

major impediments to progress

Corruption and weak institutions are major impediments to progress.

remove impediments to progress

The government promised to remove impediments to progress in the tech sector.

impediments to progress in something

There are still many impediments to progress in the peace talks.

overcome impediments to progress

The team worked hard to overcome impediments to progress.

be an impediment to progress

A lack of trust can be an impediment to progress.

Synonyms and how they differ

obstacles to progress

Very similar, but 'obstacles' often suggests something you can see or physically get around, while 'impediments' is more formal and often refers to abstract barriers.

barriers to progress

Focuses on something that blocks movement completely; 'impediments' can also mean things that just slow you down.

hindrances to progress

Close in meaning, but 'hindrances' is slightly less formal and less common in academic writing.

Opposites

Word family

impediment noun

A single thing that slows or blocks progress.

impede verb

To slow down or block something.

impeded adjective

Slowed down or blocked.

Commonly confused: impediments to progress or impedimenta?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “impediments to progress”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words