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impair

1 American  
[im-pair] / ɪmˈpɛər /

verb (used with object)

  1. to make or cause to become worse; diminish in ability, value, excellence, etc.; weaken or damage.

    to impair one's health;

    to impair negotiations.
    Antonyms:
    repair

verb (used without object)

  1. to grow or become worse; lessen.

noun

  1. Archaic.  impairment.

impair 2 American  
[an-per] / ɛ̃ˈpɛr /

adjective

French.

  1. noting any odd number, especially in roulette.

impair British  
/ ɪmˈpɛə /

verb

  1. (tr) to reduce or weaken in strength, quality, etc

    his hearing was impaired by an accident
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See injure.

Other Word Forms

  • impairable adjective
  • impairer noun
  • impairment noun
  • nonimpairment noun
  • preimpairment noun
  • self-impairable adjective
  • self-impairing adjective
  • unimpairable adjective

Etymology

Origin of impair1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English empairen, empeiren “to make worse,” from Middle French empeirer, from em- im- 1 + peirer “to make worse” (from Late Latin pējōrāre, verb derivative of Latin pējor “worse”; pejoration )

Origin of impair1

First recorded in 1820–30; from French: literally, “odd,” from Latin impār “odd, unequal”; equivalent to im- 2 ( def. ) + pair 2 ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A new study examining cognitively impaired professional boxers and mixed martial arts fighters reports that the brain's waste-clearing system appears to weaken after repeated blows to the head.

From Science Daily

Research suggests that a prisoner's offence can be partially attributed to acquired brain injuries, which are found to impair judgement and skew decision making.

From BBC

Such changes may impair thinking and memory, opening the door to treatments that could simultaneously control blood pressure and protect brain health.

From Science Daily

One of these players applied light pressure on Alisson while their other player duelled with Virgil van Dijk, impairing his movement.

From BBC

The ongoing inaugural Blind Women's T20 Cricket World Cup has put the spotlight on visually impaired Indian women who have overcome immense challenges to reach this stage.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.