Obstructive Meaning
/əbˈstɹʌk.tɪv/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjCausing obstructions.
nounOne who obstructs something.
Sentence Examples
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, blocks airflow through the lungs.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient's ____ behavior made it extremely difficult for the doctors to treat him.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The patient was diagnosed with ____ lung disease, which made it difficult for him to breathe.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English obstruct Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Old French -ifbor. Middle English -yf English -ive English obstructive From obstruct + -ive.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The obstructive tendency attributed to the knot in spiritual matters appears in a Swiss superstition that if, in sewing a corpse into its shroud, you make a knot on the thread, it will hinder the soul of the deceased on its passage to eternity."
— 1911, James George Frazer, chapter V, in Taboo and the Perils of the Soul (The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion; II), third edition, London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, page 310:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient's ____ behavior made it extremely difficult for the doctors to treat him.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The patient was diagnosed with ____ lung disease, which made it difficult for him to breathe.