obstruent (adj./n.)

A term used in the PHONETIC classification of speech sounds to refer to sounds involving a CONSTRICTION which impedes the flow of air through nose or mouth, as in PLOSIVES, FRICATIVES and AFFRICATES. In the DISTINCTIVE FEATURE approach of Chomsky and Halle, the term is used in the same sense, but its status is that of PHONOLOGICAL opposition to SONORANT.