nd close at hand.
_Impending_, also from the Latin, with the sense of hanging over, is
closely akin to _imminent_, but somewhat less emphatic. _Imminent_ is
more immediate, _impending_ more remote, _threatening_ more contingent.
An _impending_ evil is almost sure to happen at some uncertain time,
perhaps very near; an _imminent_ peril is one liable to befall very
speedily; a _threatening_ peril may be near or remote, but always with
hope that it may be averted.

Antonyms:

chimerical, doubtful, problematical, unexpected, unlikely.
contingent, improbable,

* * * * *

IMPEDIMENT.

Synonyms:

bar, clog, encumbrance, obstacle,
barrier, difficulty, hindrance, obstruction.

_Difficulty_ makes an undertaking otherwise than easy. That which rests
upon one as a burden is an _encumbrance_. An _impediment_ is primarily
something that checks the foot or in any way makes advance slow or
difficult; an _obstacle_ is something that stands across the way, an
_obstruction_ something that is built or placed across the way. An
_obstruction_ is always an _obstacle_, but an _obstacle_ may not always
be properly termed an _obstruction_; boxes and bales placed on the
sidewalk are _obstructions_ to travel; an ice-floe is an _obstacle_ to
navigation, and may become an _obstruction_ if it closes an inlet or
channel. A _hindrance_ (kindred with _hind_, _behind_) is anything that
makes one come behind or short of his purpose. An _impediment_ may be
either what one finds in his way or what he carries with him;
_impedimenta_ was the Latin name for the baggage of a soldier or of an
army. The tendency is to view an _impediment_ as something constant or,
at least for a time, continuous; as, an _impediment_ in one's speech. A
_difficulty_ or a _hindrance_ may be either within one or without; a
speaker may find _difficulty_ in expressing himself, or _difficulty_ in
holding the attention of restless children. An _encumbrance_ is always
what one carries with him; an _obstacle_ or an _obstruction_ is always
without. To a marching soldier the steepness of a mountain path is a
_difficulty_, loose stones are _impediments_, a fence is an
_obstruction_, a cliff or a boulder across the way is an _obstacle_; a
knapsack is an _encumbrance_.

Antonyms:

advantage, aid, assistance, benefit, help, relief, succor.

* * * * *

IMPUDENCE.

Synonyms: