impair
1to make or cause to become worse; diminish in ability, value, excellence, etc.; weaken or damage: to impair one's health; to impair negotiations.
to grow or become worse; lessen.
Archaic. impairment.
Origin of impair
1synonym study For impair
Opposites for impair
Other words from impair
- im·pair·a·ble, adjective
- im·pair·er, noun
- im·pair·ment, noun
- non·im·pair·ment, noun
- pre·im·pair·ment, noun
- self-im·pair·a·ble, adjective
- self-im·pair·ing, adjective
- un·im·pair·a·ble, adjective
Words Nearby impair
Other definitions for impair (2 of 2)
noting any odd number, especially in roulette.
- Compare pair.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use impair in a sentence
Instead, it’s more consistent with the idea that repeated cold exposure might actually impair your toes’ ability to handle the cold.
How Your Body Does (and Doesn't) Adapt to Cold | Alex Hutchinson | February 10, 2021 | Outside OnlineA smart pill detects an athlete’s body temperature and transmits it to an external device, so coaches can look for spikes that might impair performance.
As biometrics boom, who owns athletes’ data? It depends on the sport. | Nick Busca | February 2, 2021 | Washington PostAnother study from 2017 had athletes eat a low-carb diet for three weeks and found that it impaired performance by reducing exercise efficiency.
Alterations to hotels, public buildings and transport hubs prepared Tokyo not only for physically impaired Paralympic athletes and fans, but also for the creaking limbs of its own population, the world’s oldest.
Stress actually impairs the body’s ability to repair itself.
Formerly to impair the morals was a minor was a punishable offense.
Holy Homophobia, Batman! A Queer Reading of the Dark Knight | Rich Goldstein | July 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn other words, researchers were able to prove that THC should, technically, impair driving, but not that it does.
Does Ambien impair judgment enough to drive one to violent crime?
A host of environmental influences more directly impair brain functioning in a way that predisposes to violence.
But recent research indicates that stress-inducing measures can actually impair memory.
New Research Suggests Enhanced Interrogation Not Effective | R.M. Schneiderman | May 25, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThey can never be taken from the capital, for this would impair it and, if continued, result in the insolvency of the corporation.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesSuch history never loses its interest, nor does the lapse of ages, in the least degree, impair its credibility.
Gospel Philosophy | J. H. WardYes, there is that unchangeable oval cut of face, those features which time will never impair, that graceful and thoughtful brow.
The Petty Troubles of Married Life, Complete | Honore de BalzacThat the acts in question impair this contract, has already been sufficiently shown.
Select Speeches of Daniel Webster | Daniel WebsterThey impair and take away the charter; and they appropriate the property to new uses, against their consent.
Select Speeches of Daniel Webster | Daniel Webster
British Dictionary definitions for impair
/ (ɪmˈpɛə) /
(tr) to reduce or weaken in strength, quality, etc: his hearing was impaired by an accident
Origin of impair
1Derived forms of impair
- impairable, adjective
- impairer, noun
- impairment, noun
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
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