Impairment
//ɪmˈpɛəmənt// noun
noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The result of being impaired. countable, uncountable
- 2 the act of making something futile and useless (as by routine) wordnet
- 3 A deterioration or weakening. countable, uncountable
"We determined that the car driver’s transportation of multiple teen passengers, limited driving experience, and likely impairment from effects of cannabis at the time of the crash adversely affected her judgment of the danger of entering the intersection in front of the approaching combination vehicle."
- 4 damage that results in a reduction of strength or quality wordnet
- 5 A disability or handicap. countable, uncountable
"visual impairment"
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 the occurrence of a change for the worse wordnet
- 7 An inefficient part or factor. countable, uncountable
- 8 the condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness wordnet
- 9 A downward revaluation, a write-down. countable, uncountable
- 10 a symptom of reduced quality or strength wordnet
Example
More examples"This has visual impairment as a side effect."
Etymology
From Middle English empeirement, empeyrement, emparement, from Anglo-Norman empairement, emperement, enpeirement, from Old French ampirement, anpirement, enperement, equivalent to impair + -ment.
Related phrases
More for "impairment"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.