as in obstacles
something that makes movement or progress difficult
the only stumbling block to our move across the country was finding someone to adopt our cats
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Recent Examples of stumbling blocks
The company launched its eleventh Starship test rocket earlier this month following a string of stumbling blocks and explosions.
—
Samantha Subin, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2025
One of the stumbling blocks — the principal stumbling block — to his doing more with Presley was the boy’s manager, Bob Neal, who seemed infuriatingly unsusceptible to persuasion, promotion, or even recognition of his own (let alone his artist’s) ever-increasing opportunities.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025
Samantha Subin, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2025
One of the stumbling blocks — the principal stumbling block — to his doing more with Presley was the boy’s manager, Bob Neal, who seemed infuriatingly unsusceptible to persuasion, promotion, or even recognition of his own (let alone his artist’s) ever-increasing opportunities.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stumbling blocks
Noun
-
The television industry can be a competitive environment for emerging writers with no shortage of obstacles.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The obstacles to higher uptake are multifold and stubborn.—
Elliot Haspel,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The journey to the pad involved challenges and hurdles in terms of engineering, financing, regulations and licensing — including 24 different permits from Queensland, along with environmental and airspace approvals — as well as finding a location for a launch pad.—
Andrew Jones,
Space.com,
24 Oct. 2025
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Not that Lana needed any more hurdles to overcome.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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If possible, position yourself in a flat, open area with minimal tree cover, rocks, cliffs, or other obstructions that may block the sound of the whistle.—
Owen Clarke,
Outside,
1 Oct. 2025
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In 2025, Roborock launched a vacuum cleaner with a robotic arm for moving socks and other obstructions out of the way.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The result is more and more tariffs, higher and higher trade barriers, and less and less competition.—
Bill Barrow,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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Trump signed the pardon Wednesday, which forgave Zhao’s conviction and could ease barriers to any future role at the company, though legal and compliance restrictions remain.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stumbling blocks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stumbling%20blocks. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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