impair

Synonym Chooser

How is the word impair distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of impair are damage, harm, hurt, injure, and mar. While all these words mean "to affect injuriously," impair suggests a making less complete or efficient by deterioration or diminution.

years of smoking had impaired his health

In what contexts can damage take the place of impair?

The meanings of damage and impair largely overlap; however, damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness.

a table damaged in shipping

When might harm be a better fit than impair?

While the synonyms harm and impair are close in meaning, harm often stresses the inflicting of pain, suffering, or loss.

careful not to harm the animals

When could hurt be used to replace impair?

The words hurt and impair are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, hurt implies inflicting a wound to the body or to the feelings.

hurt by their callous remarks

When is injure a more appropriate choice than impair?

Although the words injure and impair have much in common, injure implies the inflicting of anything detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health, or success.

badly injured in an accident

When would mar be a good substitute for impair?

While in some cases nearly identical to impair, mar applies to injury that spoils perfection (as of a surface) or causes disfigurement.

the text is marred by many typos

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impair This imbalance undermines trust, impairs decision-making and fuels agency problems. Michael Hilb, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025 EyeEm Mobile GmbH/iStock/Getty Images Plus The study is the first to provide direct evidence that cannabis can impair egg quality and embryo development. Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025 The driver of the car was found to be impaired by alcohol, according to the Richmond Police Department. Sam Blum, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025 The most effective drugs for patients are antipsychotics, Lieberman said, since those medications manage the elements of psychosis that impair thoughts and perceptions. Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for impair
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impair
Verb
  • The severity, healing and availability of Purdy’s toe will depend heavily on which toe is injured and what specific part of the toe got injured.
    Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Almost certainly out this week also is injured receiver Xavier Worthy (shoulder), who provided most of the scant glimmers of hope in the Super Bowl with eight catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
    Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Using abrasive cleaner or products with harsh chemicals can damage the beautiful material and lead to a less-than-pretty tub.
    Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2025
  • But posting on social media leaves a record, and in times of escalating political polarization, those declarations can be seen as damaging to the reputation of an individual or their employer.
    Nino Paoli, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The disruptions come amid a WNBA season in which multiple games were marred by the objects making appearances on the court.
    Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Each death was devastating to relatives and friends left behind, and the first decades of the twentieth century were marred by individual grief on a global scale.
    Alice Vernon September 8, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Foreign powers such as Russia and China, which challenge America and its allies from Europe to the Middle East to Taiwan and the South China Sea, have long been accused of exploiting such divisions through disinformation campaigns that inflame tensions and weaken confidence in American governance.
    Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
  • But around the equinoxes, the natural buffer weakens.
    Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Killing, Corrupting, and Exiling of Science Under Hitler Widely regarded as the world’s research powerhouse in the 1920s and early 30s, German science was crippled by the Nazis starting in 1933, when Hitler gained power as Chancellor.
    Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Deadly floods in Asia have devastated crops, crippling already fragile food production.
    Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But some of his campaign’s reactions to Fetterman’s stroke in May 2022 hurt his chances even more.
    Kimberly Ross, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Lopes is a very tough fighter, but his inability to stay technical will hurt him against the powerful Silva.
    Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • My office and our partners will continue to hold fully accountable anyone seeking to compromise the national security of the United States.
    Jon Haworth, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Having a solid structure in place can allow kindness to thrive without compromising the performance of your team or operations.
    Roxana Diaconu, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Chinese policymakers have intensified efforts aimed at reining in excessive price cuts that have eroded corporate profits while doing little to spur demand.
    Anniek Bao, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Higher prices risk eroding consumers’ purchasing power, and for those living paycheck to paycheck this can be quite painful.
    Matt Egan, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Impair.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impair. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.

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