hinder

Compared meaning: to stop or slow down progress (verb).

比较义项：阻碍、妨碍某事的进行（动词）。

• block

  The most common, general word; means to completely stop something from happening or continuing, either physically (a road, a view) or figuratively (a deal, a plan).

  最常用、最通用的词；指彻底阻止某事发生或继续，既可用于物理阻挡（如道路、视线），也可用于阻止计划、交易等抽象事物。

  The board voted to block the proposed merger between the two companies.

  董事会投票阻止了这两家公司之间拟议的合并。

• hinder 本词

  Means to slow something down or make it more difficult, without necessarily stopping it completely; often used with abstract processes like plans or growth, frequently in the passive 'be hindered by'.

  指拖慢速度或增加难度，不一定彻底阻止；常用于计划、增长等抽象过程，常用被动式“be hindered by”。

  Lack of funding continued to hinder the charity's expansion plans.

  资金不足持续阻碍了该慈善机构的扩张计划。

• embarrass

  A formal, old-fashioned use meaning to hinder or hamper, quite rare today; typically describes a shortage of money, supplies, or troops slowing an effort down. Its far more common modern sense is 'to cause shame', not compared here.

  较为正式、老式的用法，意为阻碍、妨碍，现代英语中已很少见；通常描述资金、物资或兵力不足拖慢了某项行动。它更常见的现代意思是“使尴尬”，这里不比较该义项。

  A shortage of horses embarrassed the army's advance across the plain.

  马匹短缺妨碍了军队穿越平原的推进。

• obstruct

  A formal word meaning to physically block a passage, or to prevent a process or procedure from continuing; common in legal and physical contexts such as 'obstruct traffic' or 'obstruct justice'.

  正式用词，指物理上堵塞通道，或阻碍程序、进程的进行；常见于法律和物理语境，如“obstruct traffic（阻塞交通）”“obstruct justice（妨碍司法）”。

  It is a serious crime to obstruct a police investigation.

  妨碍警方调查是一项严重的罪行。

Block, hinder, obstruct, and embarrass can mean to stop progress, but differ. Block is most direct, fully stopping something. Hinder means slowing something down without fully stopping it. Obstruct is formal, meaning to physically block a process. Embarrass's common sense, 'cause shame', is not compared.

这四个词在“阻碍、妨碍”这个意义上比较接近，但语气和使用场景不同：block最常用最直接，指彻底阻止某事发生或通过；hinder强调拖慢速度或增加难度，不一定完全阻止；obstruct语气较正式，常指物理上堵塞通道或在程序上妨碍进行（如“妨碍司法”）；embarrass在这个意义上是较古旧、书面化的用法，这里不比较embarrass更常见的现代义项“使尴尬”。