Impediment (noun): a hindrance or obstruction in doing something.

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/impediment

“It saw you steeling yourself for the job interview, slowly walking home after the late date, tripping over nonexistent impediments on the sidewalk”

I encountered the word “impediment” while reading an article that we are currently reading in class, “City Limits” by Colson Whitehead. The word is a noun so its used to identify a person, place, or thing. While trying to gain an understanding from context clues I thought to myself ” tripping over nonexistent impediments…” , it must be something that blocks a person from doing something. It was obvious the author was using figurative language to exaggerate his thoughts. You can use the word “impediment” to describe something that is making it more difficult for you to do something. For example, “My broken wrist is the impediment preventing me from finishing my new novel.”