impairment
/ɪmˈpɛɹmənt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.55 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A loss or absence of baseline human functioning that may lead to a disability.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "We determined that the car driver’s transportation of multiple teen passengers, limited driving experience, and likely impairment from effects of cannabis at the time of the crash adversely affected her judgment of the danger of entering the intersection in front of the approaching combination vehicle."
- "visual impairment"
Etymology
From Middle English empeirement, empeyrement, emparement, from Anglo-Norman empairement, emperement, enpeirement, from Old French ampirement, anpirement, enperement, equivalent to impair + -ment.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪmˈpɛɹmənt/
- British English: /ɪmˈpɛəmənt/