hinder 1 of 2

as in rear
being at or in the part of something opposite the front part the animal's case of mange was especially bad in its hinder parts

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

hinder

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb hinder contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of hinder are block, impede, and obstruct. While all these words mean "to interfere with the activity or progress of," hinder stresses causing harmful or annoying delay or interference with progress.

rain hindered the climb

Where would block be a reasonable alternative to hinder?

The words block and hinder can be used in similar contexts, but block implies complete obstruction to passage or progress.

a landslide blocked the road

When would impede be a good substitute for hinder?

The words impede and hinder are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, impede implies making forward progress difficult by clogging, hampering, or fettering.

tight clothing that impedes movement

When could obstruct be used to replace hinder?

The meanings of obstruct and hinder largely overlap; however, obstruct implies interfering with something in motion or in progress by the sometimes intentional placing of obstacles in the way.

the view was obstructed by billboards

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hinder
Verb
Instead of letting that hinder their trolling of the U.S. government, however, American users have simply taken to learning key phrases in Mandarin instead. Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025 Impassable roads and outages to power, internet access and phone service are all factors that can hinder paying on time. Nerdwallet, Orange County Register, 16 Jan. 2025 Adding to the challenges, unresolved disputes with the European Union over tariffs of up to 45.3% on Chinese electric vehicles threaten to hinder China’s ambitions to expand its auto exports and help address deflationary overcapacity concerns. Reuters, CNN, 13 Jan. 2025 Biden also issued a sweeping executive order Monday blocking about 625 million acres of offshore areas from future oil and gas drilling, potentially hindering Trump's plans to quickly scale up fossil fuel production. Zachary Basu, Axios, 7 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for hinder 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hinder
Adjective
  • Officers at the residence then saw two males run out of the rear door, leading to a foot pursuit on the nearby beach, according to police.
    Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 28 Jan. 2025
  • An investigation revealed the suspects had entered the residence by smashing a rear sliding glass door, police said.
    Jason Green, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Walker, in fact, explains that one of the by-products of alcohol metabolism is a class of chemicals, known as aldehydes, that are especially prone to impede REM sleep.
    Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
  • These teams all have franchise players to build around and some contracts that would impede them from fully committing to the tear-down process.
    Shayna Goldman, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • But just as Maresca’s team grew steadily more passive after taking the lead, so too did Jackson fail to press home his advantage against a back line exploited by a wide range of attackers in recent weeks.
    Sam Lee, The Athletic, 25 Jan. 2025
  • Two kitchen knives were found outside the back door of the home, police said.
    Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • During major emergencies that communication can be hampered by issues such as limited radio connectivity, wind noise or other technical problems.
    Christopher L. Keller, Chicago Tribune, 29 Jan. 2025
  • Both homebuyers and current homeowners are hampered by today’s higher interest rates.
    Diana Olick, CNBC, 29 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • There’s a pesky column at the corner, which manages to just barely obstruct sightlines — though perhaps this has meaning of its own, revealing a potential non-linguistic barrier between us and them, while also helping to give the classroom its necessary claustrophobic tension.
    Christian Lewis, Variety, 24 Jan. 2025
  • Just 30 minutes after being injected with microplastics, blood flow could be obstructed in the mice's brains.
    Hatty Willmoth, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • But the fanbases of those games are not buying it, and have undergone a campaign to embarrass Musk as much as possible about his claims, dragging him into childish internet fights.
    Paul Tassi, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
  • And, yes, some justices should also regret embarrassing the court by needlessly attracting attention to their ethics.
    Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near hinder

Cite this Entry

“Hinder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hinder. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

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