impair

im·pair

verb \im-ˈper\

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

Examples of IMPAIR

1. Smoking can impair your health.
2. Drinking impairs a person's ability to think clearly.
3. His memory was so impaired by age that he often forgot where he was.

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

Related Words: deteriorate, enervate, enfeeble, undermine, weaken; erode, scour, wash out, wear (away); blight, tarnish; dent, ding, dint; botch, gum (up), queer; lacerate, wound; disable, hamstring, lame, maim, mangle, mutilate, torment, torture; annihilate, bang up, bash, batter, clobber, crush, dash, decimate, demolish, desolate, destroy, devastate, do in, pulverize, raze, ruin, scourge, shatter, smash, tear down, total, waste, wipe out, wreck

Near Antonyms: cure, heal, help, rectify, rehabilitate, remedy; edit, remodel, revise; ameliorate, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate, perfect, refine

[+]more[-]hide

See Synonym Discussion at injure

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