Adjacent Words

Impair definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

IMPA'IR, v.t. [L. pejor.]
1. To make worse; to diminish in quantity, value or excellence. An estate is impaired by extravagance or neglect. The profligate impairs his estate and his reputation.
Imprudence impairs a man's usefulness.
2. To weaken; to enfeeble. The constitution is impaired by intemperance, by infirmity and by age. The force of evidence may be impaired by the suspicion of interest in the witness.
IMPA'IR, v.i. To be lessened or worn out. [Little used.]
IM'PAIR, a. [L. impar,unequal.] In crystallography, when a different number of faces is presented by the prism, and by each summit; but the three numbers follow no law of progression.
IMPA'IR

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: make worse or less effective; "His vision was impaired"
2: make imperfect; "nothing marred her beauty" [syn: mar, impair, spoil, deflower, vitiate]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English empeiren, from Anglo-French empeirer, from Vulgar Latin *impejorare, from Latin in- + Late Latin pejorare to make worse — more at pejorative Date: 14th century 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> Synonyms: see injure • impairer noun • impairment noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. damage or weaken. Derivatives: impairment n. Etymology: ME empeire f. OF empeirier (as IN-(2), LL pejorare f. L pejor worse)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Impair Im*pair", v. t. To grow worse; to deteriorate. --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Impair Im"pair, a. [F. impair uneven, L. impar; im- not + par equal.] Not fit or appropriate. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Impair Im*pair", n. Diminution; injury. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Impair Im*pair", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Impaired; p. pr. & vb. n. Impairing.] [Written also empair.] [OE. empeiren, enpeiren, OF. empeirier, empirier, F. empirer, LL. impejorare; L. pref. im- in + pejorare to make worse, fr. pejor worse. Cf. Appair.] To make worse; to diminish in quantity, value, excellence, or strength; to deteriorate; as, to impair health, character, the mind, value. Time sensibly all things impairs. --Roscommon. In years he seemed, but not impaired by years. --Pope. Syn: To diminish; decrease; injure; weaken; enfeeble; debilitate; reduce; debase; deteriorate.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(impairs, impairing, impaired) If something impairs something such as an ability or the way something works, it damages it or makes it worse. (FORMAL) Consumption of alcohol impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery... VERB: V n • impaired The blast left him with permanently impaired hearing. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Deteriorate, injure, vitiate, make worse, harm. 2. Lessen, diminish, decrease, make less. 3. Weaken, enfeeble, enervate.

Moby Thesaurus

abate, abrade, abstract, abuse, afflict, aggravate, aggrieve, bate, befoul, bewitch, blemish, blight, condemn, corrupt, cripple, crucify, curse, curtail, damage, decrease, deduct, defile, deprave, depreciate, derogate, despoil, destroy, deteriorate, detract, dilapidate, diminish, disadvantage, disparage, disserve, distress, do a mischief, do evil, do ill, do wrong, do wrong by, doom, drain, eat away, embitter, endamage, envenom, erode, exacerbate, extract, file away, get into trouble, harass, harm, hex, hurt, infect, injure, irritate, jinx, leach, lessen, make worse, maltreat, mar, menace, mistreat, molest, outrage, persecute, play havoc with, play hob with, poison, pollute, prejudice, purify, put back, reduce, refine, remove, retrench, rub away, ruin, sap, savage, scathe, shorten, spoil, subduct, subtract, taint, take away, take from, tarnish, thin, thin out, threaten, torment, torture, undermine, violate, vitiate, weaken, wear away, weed, withdraw, worsen, wound, wreak havoc on, wrong