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
By one measure, the drug slowed cognitive decline by 52% in people with mild cognitive impairment.
—
Jon Hamilton, NPR, 29 Oct. 2025
The Wisconsin State Patrol trooper detected signs of impairment related to drug use, administered field sobriety tests and then arrested and transported him to a hospital for a legal blood draw, according to the release.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
What the team found was that always or frequently listening to music was associated with the greatest benefits, with a 39% lower incidence of dementia and 17% lower incidence of cognitive impairment.
—New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2025
This assistance includes support for children with autism, blindness, deafness, emotional and developmental disabilities and students with orthopedic impairments.
—K. Ward Cummings, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impairment
Jon Hamilton, NPR, 29 Oct. 2025
The Wisconsin State Patrol trooper detected signs of impairment related to drug use, administered field sobriety tests and then arrested and transported him to a hospital for a legal blood draw, according to the release.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
What the team found was that always or frequently listening to music was associated with the greatest benefits, with a 39% lower incidence of dementia and 17% lower incidence of cognitive impairment.
—New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2025
This assistance includes support for children with autism, blindness, deafness, emotional and developmental disabilities and students with orthopedic impairments.
—K. Ward Cummings, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impairment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impairment
Noun
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Shop for disability insurance Nearly half of American Gen Z, Millennial and Gen X households reported living paycheck-to-paycheck in 2024, according to a Bank of America study.—
Liz Knueven,
CNBC,
10 Nov. 2025
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The majority of recipients are extremely low-income families with children, as well as seniors and people with disabilities.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Braxton went down late in the first quarter with an apparent knee injury that kept him on the sideline for nearly a quarter.—
Michael Harley,
Arkansas Online,
9 Nov. 2025
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Thus far, Arsenal’s excellent form has relegated the injuries to a subplot.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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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Minor hail damage to vegetation is possible.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Nov. 2025
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Experts have said that the majority of subsea cable damage is accidental, usually due to fishing activity or a ship accidentally dropping its anchor on a cable.—
Magdalena Petrova,
CNBC,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impairment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impairment. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.
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