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.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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 impairment
The court found that the man, who has significant cognitive impairments, appeared to have consented to removal without understanding the process and without his caretakers being notified, according to court documents reviewed by Newsweek.
—
Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2026
The golfer was traveling at high speeds on a beachside, residential road on Jupiter Island when his Land Rover clipped the truck and rolled onto its side, according to the sheriff’s office, which noted Woods showed signs of impairment.
—Mike Schneider, Fortune, 31 Mar. 2026
Carter allegedly showed signs of impairment and was transported to the KHP Wyandotte County office for sobriety tests.
—Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2026
Woods showed no signs of impairment during that incident but had to undergo surgery due to multiple leg injuries.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impairment
Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2026
The golfer was traveling at high speeds on a beachside, residential road on Jupiter Island when his Land Rover clipped the truck and rolled onto its side, according to the sheriff’s office, which noted Woods showed signs of impairment.
—Mike Schneider, Fortune, 31 Mar. 2026
Carter allegedly showed signs of impairment and was transported to the KHP Wyandotte County office for sobriety tests.
—Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2026
Woods showed no signs of impairment during that incident but had to undergo surgery due to multiple leg injuries.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impairment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impairment
Noun
-
Not every disability is obvious.—
Abigail Van Buren,
Boston Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The Ruderman Family Foundation is dedicated to supporting programs, partnerships and philanthropies that advocate for the advancement and conclusion of people with disabilities.—
Payton Turkeltaub,
Variety,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That depth, though, at least gives Brown a security blanket in case of an injury or poor performance from a rotation guy.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
With just three games remaining in their season after Thursday, the Stars could be looking at another disastrous injury.—
R.J. Coyle,
Dallas Morning News,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
These can cause severe scarring or disablement and may lead to amputations.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
-
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
-
What first appeared to be a common job-interview phishing campaign ultimately revealed a hack so widespread and easy to replicate that investigators fear irreversible damage.—
Jessica Klein,
PC Magazine,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Baldoni’s legal team argues the ruling should limit which witnesses and evidence are presented, while Lively’s team maintains a broader group is still necessary to prove retaliation and damages.—
Elizabeth Rosner,
PEOPLE,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impairment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impairment. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
