as in disability
a condition in which a part of your body or mind is damaged and does not work well
Her mother had a hearing impairment that had become worse with age.
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Recent Examples of impairment
Wade had pleaded no contest in March to charges of reckless driving causing serious impairment and failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in serious impairment.
—
Paula Wethington, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Once stopped, Spears, who was the only occupant of the vehicle, showed signs of impairment and took field sobriety tests, CHP said.
—Angeline Jane Bernabe, ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
Kimberly was the senior author of a similar study published in January that found increasing ultraprocessed food intake by 10% raised the risk of cognitive impairment by 16% even if people ate mostly plants.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2026
Wade was charged with one count of reckless driving causing serious impairment of a body function and one count of failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in serious impairment or death, according to court records viewed by PEOPLE.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impairment
Paula Wethington, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Once stopped, Spears, who was the only occupant of the vehicle, showed signs of impairment and took field sobriety tests, CHP said.
—Angeline Jane Bernabe, ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
Kimberly was the senior author of a similar study published in January that found increasing ultraprocessed food intake by 10% raised the risk of cognitive impairment by 16% even if people ate mostly plants.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2026
Wade was charged with one count of reckless driving causing serious impairment of a body function and one count of failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in serious impairment or death, according to court records viewed by PEOPLE.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impairment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impairment
Noun
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The Government Accountability Office found that participants in Ticket to Work earned more on average and were more likely to leave disability rolls than similar nonparticipants.—
French Hill,
Baltimore Sun,
4 May 2026
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Organizers expect to host up to 20,000 people at Lemon Hill at the peak of the fan festival crowds, which required significant upgrades to the park, including sidewalks, lighting, the installation of disability-accessible ramps and topographical landscaping work, Kane said.—
Doha Madani,
NBC news,
4 May 2026
Noun
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The Thunder earned a bit of a break and awaits two teams battling injuries in the Lakers and Rockets.—
Dan Santaromita,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
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In 2015, six Baltimore police officers were charged with felonies ranging from assault to murder in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, a Black man who’d suffered a spinal injury while riding in a police van.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
1 May 2026
Noun
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These can cause severe scarring or disablement and may lead to amputations.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
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Playing Arnie, the younger brother to Gilbert (Johnny Depp), DiCaprio doesn’t permit his character to be a simple, adorable variation on disablement.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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China may also benefit from the reputational damage the war has imposed on the US, Yacoubian said.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
2 May 2026
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The company’s goal is to replace sprinklers, which are effective at stopping fires but can also do significant water damage to a property.—
Cyrus Farivar,
ArsTechnica,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impairment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impairment. Accessed 7 May. 2026.
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