impairment

noun

im·pair·ment im-ˈper-mənt

plural impairments

: the act of impairing something or the state or condition of being impaired : diminishment or loss of function or ability

… it does not help reverse the impairment of cognitive activity caused by diazepam …—

Corby Kummer

Trichloroethylene has been classified by EPA as a probable human carcinogen, although its primary effect is impairment of the central nervous system.—

Chemical & Engineering News

Persons with hearing impairments can now get information about local parks and their facilities by calling the recently installed TDD phone numbers within the Parks Department.—

Maryland Magazine

Studies show that roughly 11 percent of all kindergarteners have speech or language impairments …—

The Springfield (Massachusetts) Union-News

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web But even more remarkable was that Milton was 100% blind in his right eye and had a vision impairment in his left. —

The Indianapolis Star, 17 May 2023 The driver of the truck stayed at the scene and showed signs of impairment, police said on Sunday. —

Ellie Willard, The Arizona Republic, 15 May 2023 Importantly, the degree of structural impairment predicted how well the patients learned to see. —

Cordula Hölig, Scientific American, 12 May 2023 Along the way, Evans disputed that Casanova showed signs of impairment during their interactions. —

Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, 11 May 2023 About 40% of the survivors of stroke have mild cognitive impairment that does not meet the diagnostic criteria for dementia. —

Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 1 May 2023 The Royal National Institute of Blind People has revealed startling statistics gained through Freedom of Information Requests which show that 42% of local government vision impairment education teams have seen their budget cut or frozen in the last 12 months. —

Gus Alexiou, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2023 One way to potentially improve future adoption, Zhao says, is to put more consideration into making virtual environments accessible to users with visual or motor function impairments. —

Sarah Wells, Popular Mechanics, 15 Mar. 2023 These pollutants could create reproductive issues, cardiovascular damage, cancer and cognitive impairment. —

Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 25 Jan. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impairment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.