Impair | Definition of impair by Merriam-Webster

Full Definition of IMPAIR

transitive verb

: to damage or make worse by or as if by diminishing in some material respect <his health was impaired by overwork> <the strike seriously impaired community services>

— im·pair·er noun

— im·pair·ment \-mənt\ noun

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See impair defined for kids

Origin of IMPAIR

Middle English empeiren, from Anglo-French empeirer, from Vulgar Latin *impejorare, from Latin in- + Late Latin pejorare to make worse — more at pejorative

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to IMPAIR

Synonyms: blemish, bloody, break, compromise, crab, cripple, cross (up), deface, disfigure, endamage, flaw, harm, hurt, damage, injure, mar, spoil, vitiate

Antonyms: doctor, fix, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, repair, revamp

Synonym Discussion of IMPAIR

injure, harm, hurt, damage, impair, mar mean to affect injuriously. injure implies the inflicting of anything detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health, or success <badly injured in an accident>. harm often stresses the inflicting of pain, suffering, or loss <careful not to harm the animals>. hurt implies inflicting a wound to the body or to the feelings <hurt by their callous remarks>. damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness <a table damaged in shipping>. impair suggests a making less complete or efficient by deterioration or diminution <years of smoking had impaired his health>. mar applies to injury that spoils perfection (as of a surface) or causes disfigurement <the text is marred by many typos>.

Rhymes with IMPAIR

affair, aglare, airfare, Ajmer, Altair, antbear, armchair, au pair, aware, bakeware, barware, Basseterre, Baudelaire, beachwear, bergère, beware, bid fair, big hair, black bear, bricklayer, broodmare, brown bear, bugbear, caneware, carfare, Carrère, cave bear, chi-square, clayware, club chair, compare, compere, confrere, cookware, corsair, courseware, creamware, crosshair, cudbear, daymare, dead air, decare, deck chair, declare, delftware, despair, dishware, éclair, elsewhere, ensnare, eyewear, fanfare, fieldfare, firmware, flatware, Flaubert, footwear, forbear, forebear, forswear, foursquare, freeware, funfair, galère, giftware, glassware, Great Bear, groupware, Gruyère, guard hair, hardware, health care, hectare, high chair, horsehair, hot air, infare, Khmer, Kildare, knitwear, life-care, light air, longhair, loungewear, Mayfair, menswear, meunière, midair, mohair, Molière, neckwear, nightmare, no fair, outstare, out-there, outwear, playwear, plein air, plowshare, Poor Clare, Port Blair, portiere, premiere, prepare, pushchair, rainwear, redware, repair, root hair, Sancerre, sea hare, shank's mare, shareware, shorthair, side chair, Sinclair, skiwear, sleepwear, slipware, sloth bear, software, somewhere, spongeware, sportswear, stemware, stoneware, sun bear, swimwear, threadbare, tinware, torchère, trouvère, tuyere, unfair, unhair, unswear, Voltaire, warfare, welfare, wheelchair, wirehair, workfare

Definition of IMPAIR for Kids

: to make less (as in quantity, value, or strength) or worse : damage <Smoking can impair your health.>

Medical Definition of IMPAIR

: to damage or make worse by or as if by diminishing in some material respect <his health was impaired by overwork>

—im·pair·ment \-ˈpa(ə)r-mənt\ noun

Learn More About IMPAIR

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for "impair"

Spanish Central: Spanish translation of "impair"

Nglish: Translation of "impair" for Spanish speakers

Britannica English: Translation of "impair" for Arabic speakers

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