Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To cause to have difficulty in moving or in accomplishing something; burden.
- transitive verb To hinder or impede the action or performance of: synonym: hinder.
- transitive verb To burden with legal or financial obligations.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An encumbrance; a hindrance.
- To clog or impede with a load, burden, or other hindrance; render difficult or laborious in motion or operation; embarrass; overload; perplex; obstruct.
- Specifically To place (property) under a charge or servitude; load with debt or liability: as, to
encumber an estate with mortgages, or with a widow's dower; an encumbered title. Seeencumbrance , 3.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To impede the motion or action of, as with a burden; to retard with something superfluous; to weigh down; to obstruct or embarrass
- transitive verb To load with debts, or other legal claims.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive to
load down something with aburden - verb transitive to
restrict orblock something with ahindrance orimpediment - verb transitive to add a
legal claim or otherobligation
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb hold back
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Crumbles and breaks, th 'encumber'd lines must flow.
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Steering clear of any trap to pin oneself down into boxes of identity which so often encumber films about marginalized communities Rees gracefully negotiates the line between heartbreak and hope to foreground the freedom found when we recognize ourselves for who we are, for who we love, and for who stands with us.
Roya Rastegar: Sundance 2011 and the Sound of My Generation: Part II Roya Rastegar 2011
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The likelihood of further "quantitative easing" in the U.S. has cast a shadow on currency markets that is likely to continue to encumber the dollar in the near term.
Central Bank Actions Color Currency Outlook Karen Johnson 2010
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They could encumber and build up their own piece of the Ugandan dream, and grow assets, equity and a net worth, which can later be passed on to their equally enterprising children.
John Hope Bryant: Dispatch From Uganda: What Africa Needs Now John Hope Bryant 2010
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Sure, some websites capability kiss the feet your encumber, re-using it and putting ads on it – making bread from your tyrannically in the planning stages unemployed.
The Culture of Sharing: Why Releasing Copyright Will Be the Smartest Thing You Do | Write to Done 2009
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Steering clear of any trap to pin oneself down into boxes of identity which so often encumber films about marginalized communities Rees gracefully negotiates the line between heartbreak and hope to foreground the freedom found when we recognize ourselves for who we are, for who we love, and for who stands with us.
Roya Rastegar: Sundance 2011 and the Sound of My Generation: Part II Roya Rastegar 2011
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Unfortunately, the worldviews that dominated American politics throughout the 20th century now encumber the nation's attempts to solve the problems it faces in the 21st.
Matt Browne: Can America Emulate Germany's Economic Success? Matt Browne 2012
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Steering clear of any trap to pin oneself down into boxes of identity which so often encumber films about marginalized communities Rees gracefully negotiates the line between heartbreak and hope to foreground the freedom found when we recognize ourselves for who we are, for who we love, and for who stands with us.
Roya Rastegar: Sundance 2011 and the Sound of My Generation: Part II Roya Rastegar 2011
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Spending cuts will further encumber the Navy's already withering fleet, which plays a central role in AirSea Battle.
Asia Needs a Larger U.S. Defense Budget Dan Blumenthal 2011
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Steering clear of any trap to pin oneself down into boxes of identity which so often encumber films about marginalized communities Rees gracefully negotiates the line between heartbreak and hope to foreground the freedom found when we recognize ourselves for who we are, for who we love, and for who stands with us.
Roya Rastegar: Sundance 2011 and the Sound of My Generation: Part II Roya Rastegar 2011
seanahan commented on the word encumber
Similarly queuecumber
October 21, 2007