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obstructionist

obstructionist

22 8.2
A person who delays or stops a group's progress on purpose
  • noun
  • /əbˈstrʌkʃənɪst/
translation icon : obstruccionista
  • Republicans decried the Democrats' tactics as obstructionist and argued that they exacerbated the "crisis" of judicial vacancies.
  • obstructionist tactics

Examples

  • And how about the leader of the obstructionists in Congress, Eric Cantor?

    Blog text (11)
  • The conservatives found out that there were voter consequences for their obstructionist strategies in the past Congress.

    Blog text (16)
  • Do they really want to continue the obstructionist policies of the Republican Congress?

    Blog text (11)
  • It's ridiculous how obstructionist the Republican Congress has been, at the expense of the country.

    Blog text (11)
  • That is a tiny little example of how obstructionist our own guild was in terms of us just trying to organize ourselves.

  • When confronted with obstructionist opposition, you are expected to fight, not compromise with them!

    Blog text (8)
  • The southern Democrats ended up looking and acting like obstructionists.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Politically, it's an achievement to get the 60 votes in the face of an obstructionist GOP.

    Blog text (14)
  • In his opening address to the council, John labeled such obstructionist officials 'prophets of doom.'

    Academic text (2014)
  • The senator was criticized for being an obstructionist during the important negotiations on healthcare reform.

Synonyms

resister
vsobstructionist
6 6.2

A person who opposes authority or control

targets delaying or blocking progress specifically rather than broad opposition
rejectionist
vsobstructionist
1 8.2

Refusing to accept proposals or changes, often for political reasons

deliberately delays or prevents progress rather than only refusing proposals
filibusterer
vsobstructionist
1 9.8

A politician who speaks for a long time to delay a vote they oppose

deliberately delays legislative action but by any method
staller
vsobstructionist
1 7.9

A person who delays making decisions on purpose

delays or prevents progress actively rather than by avoidance
delayer
vsobstructionist
1 7.4

A person who often waits until the last minute to do things

deliberately delays progress with the intent to block action
thwarter
vsobstructionist
9.9

A person who often stops other people's plans or progress

deliberately delays or prevents progress but not always in a systematic way
obstructor
vsobstructionist
8.1

A person who stops or delays other people's actions on purpose

targets delays in organizational or legislative settings specifically
obstructer
vsobstructionist
5.8

Someone or something that blocks progress

is used for deliberate delay especially within organizations or legislatures
blockader
vsobstructionist
8.6

A person who delays a decision by using formal rules

deliberately delays progress not limited to procedural tactics
stonewaller
vsobstructionist
  • Literature
9.6

A person who refuses to answer questions and delays progress

deliberately delays progress without necessarily refusing to cooperate

Antonyms

33 5.1

A person who helps a group work better together

How Obstructive

filibusterer
1 9.8
obstructionist
22 8.2
stonewaller
  • Literature
9.6
opponent
3.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

obstructionist = obstruction (transparent) = obstruction + ist

Formed by adding the productive agentive suffix '-ist' to the noun 'obstruction', yielding 'a person who engages in obstruction', which is directly inferable.

Etymology

Obstructionist comes from parts meaning 'against' and 'build': ob- 'against' and the root struct, as in structure and construct, which means 'build'. So an obstructionist is someone who 'builds against' a plan — they block or delay progress.