as in damages
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
already impaired by a crack, the windshield shattered upon impact with the baseball
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Recent Examples of impairs
If rain severely impairs your vision, pull over and wait for conditions to improve.
—
Southern California Weather Report, Oc Register, 18 Feb. 2026
If rain severely impairs your vision, pull over and wait for conditions to improve.
—Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
If rain severely impairs your vision, pull over and wait for conditions to improve.
—Southern California Weather Report, Daily News, 11 Feb. 2026
Long before neuroscience confirmed it, the sages understood that sustained outrage narrows perception, impairs judgment, and corrodes community.
—Rabbi Bruce D. Forman, Sun Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2026
Excess glucose also impairs our brain's functioning.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
On the other hand, chronic sleep deprivation impairs attention, disrupts decision-making and alters the hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism.
—Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, The Conversation, 23 Jan. 2026
Russia’s second front The most dangerous front in Europe this year will shift from the trenches in Donetsk to the hybrid war between Russia and NATO as Vladimir Putin seeks to erode European support for Ukraine before economic strain impairs his ability to prosecute the hot war.
—Ian Bremmer, Time, 6 Jan. 2026
Cerebral palsy is a permanent neurological condition that impairs a person’s ability to control body movement and maintain muscle coordination.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025
Southern California Weather Report, Oc Register, 18 Feb. 2026
If rain severely impairs your vision, pull over and wait for conditions to improve.
—Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
If rain severely impairs your vision, pull over and wait for conditions to improve.
—Southern California Weather Report, Daily News, 11 Feb. 2026
Long before neuroscience confirmed it, the sages understood that sustained outrage narrows perception, impairs judgment, and corrodes community.
—Rabbi Bruce D. Forman, Sun Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2026
Excess glucose also impairs our brain's functioning.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
On the other hand, chronic sleep deprivation impairs attention, disrupts decision-making and alters the hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism.
—Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, The Conversation, 23 Jan. 2026
Russia’s second front The most dangerous front in Europe this year will shift from the trenches in Donetsk to the hybrid war between Russia and NATO as Vladimir Putin seeks to erode European support for Ukraine before economic strain impairs his ability to prosecute the hot war.
—Ian Bremmer, Time, 6 Jan. 2026
Cerebral palsy is a permanent neurological condition that impairs a person’s ability to control body movement and maintain muscle coordination.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impairs
Verb
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Kemerly was diagnosed with a liver disease in 2007 that slowly damages the liver.—
Chris Hoffman,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
-
For example, if a hurricane destroys a school, a courthouse and 50 miles of roads in a city, FEMA will give the local government more money than if that same hurricane damages one building.—
Lauren Sommer,
NPR,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
When Don injures his hand, Blue (Hunter McVey) is forced to step into the competition for him.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Bystander videos, like the ones taken of Pretti, have played a key role for decades in informing the public when law enforcement kills or injures people.—
Ava Berger,
NPR,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The picture exudes both grace and vulnerability, and hints at imperfection by way of a disconcerting, coral-like wrinkle that mars the foot’s heel.—
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
20 Dec. 2025
-
Deadly holiday weekend mars broad crime drop The back-and-forth followed a Labor Day weekend of deadly violence in Chicago worse than in the previous two years, with seven people shot to death, according to preliminary Chicago Police Department reports.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That means the batteries can keep the power on during prolonged severe weather events, peak summer demand, or just a particularly cloudy week that weakens solar power.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
2 Mar. 2026
-
First, the skull weakens and distorts sound waves.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.—
Andrew Rein,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Scarface and friends attack the lab, and break out the kryptonite that cripples El and Kali.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Public trust erodes when enforcement appears shielded from routine scrutiny.—
Dave Myers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Hidden compliance friction that erodes the very margins sourcing teams worked to protect.—
Muchaneta ten Napel,
Sourcing Journal,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In addition to the personal toll, playing overseas also hurts players professionally by limiting their ability to sign endorsement deals.—
J.J. Bailey,
New York Times,
8 Mar. 2026
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Advertisement Love Story, like so many Murphy projects, is too focused on revising historical narratives to care about crafting complex characters, much less about who its flattening hurts.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This is the players telling the world that Schoen’s presence and performance drag the team down and compromises their ability to win.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
27 Feb. 2026
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Prepared Frozen Foods Dumplings and gyoza are typically flash-frozen after shaping and should be cooked straight from frozen; thawing softens the wrappers and compromises texture.—
Anne Wolf,
Martha Stewart,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impairs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impairs. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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