ostruire

Ostruire is a transitive Italian verb meaning to obstruct, block, or impede the passage of something. It can refer to a physical blockage, such as a pipe or a road, as well as to figurative hindrance, such as delaying a process or decision. The verb is used in technical, legal, medical, and general contexts, and it often conveys a sense of creating an obstacle rather than merely delaying it.

Etymology and usage notes: ostruire derives from the Latin obstruere, formed from ob- (against) and struere (to build, to pile up). In Italian, the verb is related to the noun ostruzione (obstruction) and shares its core meaning with related terms like ostacolare (to hinder) and bloccare (to block). In everyday language, ostruire tends to appear in more formal or technical prose.

Conjugation and forms: ostruire is a verb of the -ire class with the isc- pattern in the present tense. Present indicative forms are ostruisco, ostruisci, ostruisce, ostruciamo, ostruite, ostruiscono. The past participle is ostruito, and the gerund is ostruendo. Common compound tenses use avere: ho ostruito, hai ostruito, ha ostruito, etc. The verb also forms typical subjunctive and conditional tenses: che ostruisca; ostruirei, ostruiresti, ostruirebbe, ostruiremmo, ostruireste, ostruirebbero.

Examples of use: in physical contexts, “La neve ha ostruito le vie di accesso al villaggio.” In figurative contexts, “Le nuove norme potrebbero ostruire la creazione di imprese,” illustrating hindrance to processes rather than a purely physical blockage.

See also: ostruzione, ostacolare, bloccare.