Baulks is a word that means hurdles or obstacles. There are several synonyms for this word, including hindrances, impediments, setbacks, snags, and stumbling blocks. Each of these words describes something that can stand in the way of progress, but they do differ in meaning slightly. Hindrances suggests something that is a barrier to progress, impediments implies something that slows down or prevents progress, setbacks refers to unexpected obstacles that impede progress, snags denotes something that presents complications, and stumbling blocks means a difficulty that prevents progress. All of these synonyms describe different kinds of obstacles that can slow down progress and hinder success.