filibuster

(noun, verb)

noun

1. a legislator who gives long speeches in an effort to delay or obstruct legislation that he (or she) opposes

Similar word(s): filibusterer

Definition categories: person, delayer, legislator

2. (law) a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches

Definition categories: act, delay, holdup

Sentences with filibuster as a noun:

- 1890 These duties involved prodigious physical and mental exertion, in a climate deadly to Europeans. They also involved much voyaging in waters haunted by filibusters and buccaneers. But nothing appears to daunt Labat. As for the filibusters, he becomes their comrade and personal friend; – he even becomes their chaplain, and does not scruple to make excursions with them. — Lafcadio Hearn, Two Years in the French West Indies.

verb

1. obstruct deliberately by delaying

Definition categories: social, block, blockade, embarrass, hinder, obstruct, stymie, stymy