encumbrance
noun
[ ɪnˈkʌmbr(ə)ns ]
• an impediment or burden.
• "the horse raised its hind leg as if to rid itself of an encumbrance"
Similar:
hindrance,
obstruction,
obstacle,
impediment,
restraint,
constraint,
handicap,
inconvenience,
nuisance,
disadvantage,
drawback,
cumber,
responsibility,
obligation,
liability,
imposition,
burden,
weight,
load,
tax,
stress,
strain,
pressure,
trouble,
worry,
millstone,
albatross,
cross to bear,
trammel,
Origin:
Middle English (denoting an encumbered state; formerly also as incumbrance ): from Old French encombrance, from encombrer ‘block up’ (see encumber).
