obstáculo

See also: obstaculo

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin obstaculum.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /obsˈta.ku.lu/, /o.bisˈta.ku.lu/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /obsˈta.ku.lu/, /o.bisˈta.ku.lu/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /obʃˈta.ku.lu/, /o.biʃˈta.ku.lu/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /obsˈta.ku.lo/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɔbʃˈta.ku.lu/ [ɔβʃˈta.ku.lu]

• Rhymes: -akulu
• Hyphenation: obs‧tá‧cu‧lo

Noun

obstáculo m (plural obstáculos)

1. obstacle (something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress)

Further reading

• “obstáculo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “obstáculo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin obstāculum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /obsˈtakulo/ [oβ̞sˈt̪a.ku.lo]
• Rhymes: -akulo
• Syllabification: obs‧tá‧cu‧lo

Noun

obstáculo m (plural obstáculos)

1. obstacle, hindrance, stumbling block, hurdle, barrier, impediment, obstruction, handicap, constraint, snag, bottleneck (something immaterial that hinders progress)
2. obstacle (something physically hindering progress)
3. (sports) hurdle

Related terms

• obstaculizar

Further reading

• “obstáculo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025