impairment

1. 1.

   the occurrence of a change for the worse

   Synonymsdamageharm

   Broaderchange

   Narrowerdetrimentdistortionrun
2. 2.

   a symptom of reduced quality or strength

   Synonymsdeterioration

   Broaderdecay

   Narrowercorrosiondevastationdecrepitudewear
3. 3.

   the condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness

   “reading disability”

   “hearing impairment”

   Synonymsdisabilitydisablementhandicap

   Broaderunfitness

   Narrowerbowleganorgasmiadysphasiadisability of walkingastasiaamputationhearing impairmentdysomiavisual impairmentprolapse
4. 4.

   damage that results in a reduction of strength or quality

   Broaderdamage
5. 5.

   the act of making something futile and useless (as by routine)

   Synonymsstultificationconstipationdeadening

   Broaderdegradation

Other forms of impairment

plural

impairments·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about impairment

What does impairment mean?

impairment means "the occurrence of a change for the worse". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in impairment?

impairment has 3 syllables: im-pair-ment. The stress falls on "pair". In IPA it is /ˌɪmˈpɛɹmənt/.

What is another word for impairment?

Close synonyms include damage, harm, deterioration, disability, disablement. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is impairment a common word?

impairment is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.