bloqueo
nounCEFR B2
What does “bloqueo” mean in English?
blockade, obstruction
blockade, obstruction (a deliberate stopping of movement, progress, or action; bloqueo parlamentario; bloqueo económico)
Example sentences
El bloqueo parlamentario ha paralizado la aprobación de los presupuestos por segundo año consecutivo.
The parliamentary blockage has paralysed the approval of the budget for the second consecutive year.
El bloqueo económico impuesto al país ha tenido consecuencias devastadoras para la población civil.
The economic blockade imposed on the country has had devastating consequences for the civilian population.
Muchos estudiantes experimentan un bloqueo mental ante los exámenes que no tiene que ver con sus conocimientos reales.
Many students experience a mental block in exams that has nothing to do with their actual knowledge.
How to use it
El bloqueo (noun, masculine) means 'blockage, blockade, block, obstruction' — a deliberate or systemic stopping of movement, progress, or action. At B2 it is frequent in political, diplomatic, and psychological discourse. Core collocations: el bloqueo parlamentario/político/diplomático; el bloqueo económico (economic blockade); romper/superar el bloqueo; sufrir un bloqueo mental (to have a mental block); el veto y el bloqueo. The verb is bloquear: bloquear una propuesta/un acuerdo. Distinguish from barrera (structural impediment) and obstáculo (an obstacle on a path).
Common mistake
Bloqueo (the resulting state of blockage) vs bloquear (the active verb: to block). El bloqueo parlamentario is not about a single blocked proposal — it describes a systemic deadlock. In diplomatic Spanish, bloqueo is distinct from veto (a formal single-vote power to block). 'Writer's block' = bloqueo del escritor (calque, now accepted).