impair

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impair

/ɪmˈpɛə/ UK
/ɪmˈpɛː/ UK
/ɪmˈpɛɹ/ Canada, US
/ɪmˈpeː/ Australia
/əmˈpeə/ New Zealand
/əmˈpiə/

Rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English impairen, empeiren, from Old French empeirier, from Early Medieval Latin impeiōrāre, from in- + Late Latin peiōrāre (“worsen”), from peiōrem (“worse”), comparative of malus (“bad”).

verb impairs · impairing · impaired · empair

transitive To weaken; to affect negatively; to have a diminishing effect on. In 2016, it was announced that Jones had been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia, a form of dementia that impairs the ability to communicate.
archaic, intransitive To grow worse; to deteriorate. Flesh may empaire,[…]but reason can repaire.

Similar: hinder

adjective more impair · most impair · empair

obsolete Not fit or appropriate; unsuitable. giues he not till iudgement guide his bounty, / Nor dignifies an impaire thought with breath:

noun impair · impairs · empair

obsolete The act of impairing or deteriorating.
obsolete The fact of being impaired or having grown worse.
obsolete An impairment or deterioration. Suppoſe a mans credit ſhould ſuffer an impair with thoſe whoſe cenſure is not to be valued; yet think, which is worſe, ſhame or ſin? Wilt thou ſin againſt God to ſave thy credit?

Thesaurus

verb

Similar: hinder

Translations

Every language

verb have a diminishing effect on

Español	deteriorar, empeorar, descomponer, mermar
Português	prejudicar, enfraquecer, diminuir, empiorar, piorar
Français	détériorer, abîmer, affaiblir, affecter, altérer, impacter
Deutsch	beeinträchtigen, schädigen, beschädigen, schwächen, vermindern, verschlechtern
Română	afecta, diminua, deteriora
Русский	ослабля́ть oslabljátʹ, ослабевать oslabevatʹ
العربية	أَضْعَفَ ʔaḍʕafa, دَهْوَرَ dahwara

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MLA

"impair." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/impair. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

impair. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/impair

Chicago

"impair." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/impair.

BibTeX

@misc{impair_2026,
  title = {impair},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/impair},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}