impairment
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of impairment
Explanation
An impairment makes some things difficult to do. An eye injury can be an impairment to seeing. An impairment can also be any change for the worse. People with impairments have trouble doing something. If you have a hearing impairment, you can’t hear very well. If you have a taste impairment, you can’t enjoy flavors. If you bump your head and can’t remember your name, you’re suffering a mental impairment. Some impairments are temporary. If you sprain your ankle, it will heal, but you'll have to live with the impairment for a while. Losing your job is an impairment to your career and finances. Impairments make things more difficult.
Vocabulary lists containing impairment
"Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center," Vocabulary from the speech
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myPerspectives 7.1
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"Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center" by John F. Kennedy
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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.
The participants had an average age of 71, and none had dementia or mild cognitive impairment.
From Science Daily • May 22, 2026
In May, Sony reduced the value of the studio, recording hundreds of millions of dollars in impairment losses after its games failed to meet expectations.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
This is the second serious complication for Foundayo, with 34 adverse events tracked; its label warns against severe hepatic impairment.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
“That makes the current weakness look more like a transition cost than a permanent impairment, though international verification friction remains a real overhang.”
From MarketWatch • May 1, 2026
Dr. Strayer said he’d published more than fifty articles in major scientific journals, around twenty of them on issues pertaining to driving impairment, attention and distraction behind the wheel.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
