impair

verb

/ɪmˈpeə(r)/

/ɪmˈper/

(formal)

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they impair	/ɪmˈpeə(r)/ /ɪmˈper/
he / she / it impairs	/ɪmˈpeəz/ /ɪmˈperz/
past simple impaired	/ɪmˈpeəd/ /ɪmˈperd/
past participle impaired	/ɪmˈpeəd/ /ɪmˈperd/
-ing form impairing	/ɪmˈpeərɪŋ/ /ɪmˈperɪŋ/

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impair something to damage something or make something worse
- His age impaired his chances of finding a new job.
Synonyms damage
damage
- hurt
- harm
- impair
These words all mean to have a bad effect on somebody/something.
- damage to cause physical harm to something, making it less attractive, useful or valuable; to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
  The fire badly damaged the town hall.
  emotionally damaged children
- hurt (rather informal) to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
  Hard work never hurt anyone.
- harm to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
  Pollution can harm marine life.
damage, hurt or harm?Hurt is slightly less formal than damage or harm, especially when it is used in negative statements: It won’t hurt him to have to wait a bit. • It won’t damage/harm him to have to wait a bit. Harm is also often used to talk about ways in which things in the natural world such as wildlife and the environment are affected by human activity.
- impair (rather formal) to damage somebody’s health, abilities or chances:
  Even one drink can impair driving performance.
Patterns
- to damage/hurt/harm/impair somebody’s chances
- to damage/hurt/harm somebody’s interests/reputation
- to damage/harm/impair somebody’s health
- to seriously/greatly damage/hurt/harm/impair somebody/something
- to badly/severely damage/hurt/impair somebody/something
Extra Examples
- Even one drink can impair driving performance.
- There are a number of factors which can directly impair memory.
- a defect that significantly impairs the safety of a car
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- dramatically
- greatly
- markedly
- …
phrases
- severely impaired
See full entry
Word OriginMiddle English enpeire, from Old French empeirier, based on late Latin pejorare (from Latin pejor ‘worse’). The current spelling is due to association with words derived from Latin beginning with im-.