Stumblingblock

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A difficulty or obstacle that hinders progress and creates challenges in reaching objectives
2. A barrier or hindrance that obstructs development and complicates the attainment of goals
3. An obstacle that prevents or delays achieving a goal or completing a task

Etymology: The image behind "stumbling block" is older than the English phrase, and it comes from the Bible. Its two parts are plain: "stumbling" is the verbal noun of "stumble," meaning to trip or lose one's footing, and "block" is a solid obstacle in the path. Together they describe something on the ground that makes a traveller fall, which is exactly the sense the phrase still carries when it means an obstacle to progress. The figurative use grew out of biblical language about moral temptation, where anything that led a person into sin was said to place a stumbling block before them. Over time the moral sense loosened into the everyday one, so that a stumbling block now can be a practical difficulty, a bureaucratic hurdle, or a missing piece of information. The concrete picture of a rock in the road remains underneath every use.

Synonyms: obstacle, hindrance, impediment, barrier, difficulty

Antonyms: facilitator, aid, help, advantage, support