S: (n) albatross, millstone ((figurative) something that hinders or handicaps) "she was an albatross around his neck"
S: (n) bind (something that hinders as if with bonds)
S: (n) diriment impediment ((canon law) an impediment that invalidates a marriage (such as the existence of a prior marriage))
S: (n) drag (something that slows or delays progress) "taxation is a drag on the economy"; "too many laws are a drag on the use of new land"
S: (n) obstacle, obstruction (something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted) "lack of imagination is an obstacle to one's advancement"; "the poverty of a district is an obstacle to good education"; "the filibuster was a major obstruction to the success of their plan"
S: (n) barrier, roadblock (any condition that makes it difficult to make progress or to achieve an objective) "intolerance is a barrier to understanding"
S: (n) color barrier (the barrier preventing Blacks from participating in various activities with whites)
S: (n) ideological barrier (a barrier to cooperation or interaction resulting from conflicting ideologies)
S: (n) iron curtain (an impenetrable barrier to communication or information especially as imposed by rigid censorship and secrecy; used by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe the demarcation between democratic and communist countries)
S: (n) bamboo curtain (an ideological barrier around communist China especially in the 1950s and 1960s)
S: (n) straitjacket (anything immaterial that severely hinders or confines) "they defected because Russian dance was in a straitjacket"; "the government is operating in an economic straitjacket"