impede

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im·pede

(ĭm-pēd′)

tr.v. im·ped·ed, im·ped·ing, im·pedes

To retard or obstruct the progress of. See Synonyms at hinder¹.

[Latin impedīre; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]

im·ped′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

impede

(ɪmˈpiːd)

(tr) to restrict or retard in action, progress, etc; hinder; obstruct

[C17: from Latin impedīre to hinder, literally: shackle the feet, from pēs foot]

imˈpeder n

imˈpedingly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

im•pede

(ɪmˈpid)

v.t. -ped•ed, -ped•ing.

to retard in movement or progress by means of obstacles or hindrances; obstruct; hinder.

[1595–1605; < Latin impedīre to entangle, literally, to snare the feet =im- im-¹ + pedīre, v. derivative of pēs foot]

syn: See prevent.

impede

Past participle: impeded
Gerund: impeding

Imperative
impede
impede

Present
I impede
you impede
he/she/it impedes
we impede
you impede
they impede

Preterite
I impeded
you impeded
he/she/it impeded
we impeded
you impeded
they impeded

Present Continuous
I am impeding
you are impeding
he/she/it is impeding
we are impeding
you are impeding
they are impeding

Present Perfect
I have impeded
you have impeded
he/she/it has impeded
we have impeded
you have impeded
they have impeded

Past Continuous
I was impeding
you were impeding
he/she/it was impeding
we were impeding
you were impeding
they were impeding

Past Perfect
I had impeded
you had impeded
he/she/it had impeded
we had impeded
you had impeded
they had impeded

Future
I will impede
you will impede
he/she/it will impede
we will impede
you will impede
they will impede

Future Perfect
I will have impeded
you will have impeded
he/she/it will have impeded
we will have impeded
you will have impeded
they will have impeded

Future Continuous
I will be impeding
you will be impeding
he/she/it will be impeding
we will be impeding
you will be impeding
they will be impeding

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been impeding
you have been impeding
he/she/it has been impeding
we have been impeding
you have been impeding
they have been impeding

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been impeding
you will have been impeding
he/she/it will have been impeding
we will have been impeding
you will have been impeding
they will have been impeding

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been impeding
you had been impeding
he/she/it had been impeding
we had been impeding
you had been impeding
they had been impeding

Conditional
I would impede
you would impede
he/she/it would impede
we would impede
you would impede
they would impede

Past Conditional
I would have impeded
you would have impeded
he/she/it would have impeded
we would have impeded
you would have impeded
they would have impeded

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	impede - be a hindrance or obstacle to; "She is impeding the progress of our project" hinder obturate, occlude, close up, impede, obstruct, jam, block - block passage through; "obstruct the path" prevent, keep - stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state; "We must prevent the cancer from spreading"; "His snoring kept me from falling asleep"; "Keep the child from eating the marbles" inhibit - limit, block, or decrease the action or function of; "inhibit the action of the enzyme"; "inhibit the rate of a chemical reaction" interfere - come between so as to be hindrance or obstacle; "Your talking interferes with my work!" set back - slow down the progress of; hinder; "His late start set him back" hobble - hamper the action or progress of; "The chairman was hobbled by the all-powerful dean" stunt - check the growth or development of; "You will stunt your growth by building all these muscles"
	2.	impede - block passage through; "obstruct the path" obturate, occlude, close up, obstruct, jam, block block off, blockade - obstruct access to barricado, barricade - block off with barricades barricade - prevent access to by barricading; "The street where the President lives is always barricaded" asphyxiate, suffocate, stifle, choke - impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of; "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children" tie up - restrain from moving or operating normally; "Traffic is tied up for miles around the bridge where the accident occurred" dam, dam up - obstruct with, or as if with, a dam; "dam the gorges of the Yangtse River" block out, screen - prevent from entering; "block out the strong sunlight" earth up, land up - block with earth, as after a landslide barricade, block, block up, blockade, block off, bar, stop - render unsuitable for passage; "block the way"; "barricade the streets"; "stop the busy road" clog, clog up, congest, choke off, foul, back up, choke - become or cause to become obstructed; "The leaves clog our drains in the Fall"; "The water pipe is backed up" hinder, impede - be a hindrance or obstacle to; "She is impeding the progress of our project"

impede

verb hinder, stop, slow (down), check, bar, block, delay, hold up, brake, disrupt, curb, restrain, hamper, thwart, clog, obstruct, retard, encumber, cumber, throw a spanner in the works of (Brit. informal) Fallen rocks are impeding the progress of rescue workers.
help, further, aid, advance, promote, assist

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

impede

verb

1. To interfere with the progress of:

bog (down), encumber, hinder, hold back, obstruct.

Idiom: get in the way of.

2. To stop or prevent passage of:

bar, block, dam, obstruct.

Idiom: be in the way of.

Translations

يُعيق، يُعَرْقِل، يَحول دون

bránitohrozit

hindre

erschweren verhindern

εμποδίζω

entraver

hindra

impedire ostacolare bagagli difficolt... di parola impedenza

sukliudyti

kavēttraucēt

engellemekgeciktirmek

妨碍阻止

impede

[ɪmˈpiːd] VT [+ progress, movement, growth, development] → dificultar, obstaculizar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

impede

[ɪmˈpiːd] vt [+ progress, development] → entraver

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

impede

vt person → hindern; action, progress, work → behindern, erschweren; movement, traffic, process → behindern

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

impede

[ɪmˈpiːd] vt → ostacolare

impede

(imˈpiːd) verb

to prevent or delay the start or progress of. Progress on the building of the road was impeded by a fall of rock.

impediment (imˈpedimənt) noun

1. something that delays or prevents.

2. a small fault in a person's speech. A stammer is a speech impediment.

impede

v. impedir, obstruir.

References in classic literature ?

On his route, he encountered many heavy falls of snow, which melted almost immediately, so as not to impede his march, and on the 4th of December, he found his other party, encamped at the very place where he had partaken in the buffalo hunt with the Bannacks.

View in context

But what is worst of all is, that general confusion which those who are in power introduce to impede the ordinary course of justice; which sufficiently shows what is the nature of the government, or rather lawless force: for it is usual with the principal persons amongst them to collect together some of the common people and their friends, and then revolt and set up for themselves, and come to blows with each other.

View in context

Independent of those local circumstances which tend to beget and increase power in one part and to impede its progress in another, we must advert to the effects of that superior policy and good management which would probably distinguish the government of one above the rest, and by which their relative equality in strength and consideration would be destroyed.

View in context

As to there being any quantity of snow fallen or likely to fall to impede their return, that was a mere joke; he was afraid they would find no difficulty.

The horror of being blocked up at Randalls, while her children were at Hartfield, was full in her imagination; and fancying the road to be now just passable for adventurous people, but in a state that admitted no delay, she was eager to have it settled, that her father and Emma should remain at Randalls, while she and her husband set forward instantly through all the possible accumulations of drifted snow that might impede them.

View in context

Let whoso would revert to nothingness impede me." Even as he spoke he stooped and crawled into the chamber beyond, while Gahan, taking Tara by the arm, motioned her to follow.

"There are none to impede our progress," urged Gahan, "so why tax the strength of the Princess by needless haste?"

View in context

Formerly, an invading army would penetrate into the heart of a neighboring country almost as soon as intelligence of its approach could be received; but now a comparatively small force of disciplined troops, acting on the defensive, with the aid of posts, is able to impede, and finally to frustrate, the enterprises of one much more considerable.

View in context

Deane was too shrewd and practical a man to allow either his reminiscences or his snuff to impede the progress of trade.

View in context

In a word, we must found a form of government holding universal sway, which should be diffused over the whole world without destroying the bonds of citizenship, and beside which all other governments can continue in their customary course and do everything except what impedes the great aim of our order, which is to obtain for virtue the victory over vice.

View in context

For the penalty to apply, the individual's conduct must be due to a position that is frivolous or a desire (which appears on the purported return) to delay or impede the administration of Federal income tax laws.

"Homemade" income tax forms may constitute valid returns

The advisories warn that women of childbearing age and children should avoid methylmercury, which can impede the development of the nervous system in fetuses, infants, and young children.