Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definitions: Impairment |
ImpairmentNoun1. The occurrence of a change for the worse. 2. A symptom of reduced quality or strength. 3. The condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness; "reading disability"; "hearing impairment". 4. Damage that results in a reduction of strength or quality. 5. The act of making something futile and useless (as by routine). Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "impairment" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1894. (references) |
Etymology: Impairment \Im*pair"ment\, noun. [from Old English expression enpeirement, Old French empirement.]. (Websters 1913) |
| Domain | Definitions |
Electrical Engineering | The deterioration or decrease in the quality, level, or standard of performance of a functional unit. Source: European Union. (references) |
Environment | The degree to which a scenic view or distance of clear visibility is degraded by man-made pollutants. (references) |
Medicine | In the context of health experience, an impairment is any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function [VE1]. Source: European Union. (references) |
Public Administration | Any loss or abnormality of a psychological, physical or anatomical function or structure; -WHO. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: ImpairmentSynonyms: damage (n), deadening (n), deterioration (n), disability (n), disablement (n), handicap (n), harm (n), stultification (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Deterioration | Impairment, inquination, injury, damage, loss, detriment, delaceration, outrage, havoc, inroad, ravage, scath; perversion, prostitution, vitiation, discoloration, oxidation, pollution, defoedation, poisoning, venenation, leaven, contamination, canker, corruption, adulteration, alloy. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Periodicals |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Roe v. Wade | 1973 | A childless married couple (the Does), the wife not being pregnant, separately attacked the laws, basing alleged injury on the future possibilities of contraceptive failure, pregnancy, unpreparedness for parenthood, and impairment of the wife's health. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Risks include sedation and psychomotor impairment. (references) | |
Frequently, there is also an impairment in reading. (references) | ||
Survivors suffer from severe mental and physical impairment. (references) | ||
Economic History | Greece | Greece and the United States signed the 1954 Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, which covers a few investment protection issues, such as acquisition and protection of property and impairment of legally acquired rights or interests. (references) |
Worker Rights | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | There were some reports of significant visual impairment by visual display unit workers, and some reports of hearing impairment by power station and stone crushing employees. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Benjamin Harrison | 1889-1893 | But having fairly obtained them by methods and for purposes entirely consistent with the most friendly disposition toward all other powers, our consent will be necessary to any modification or impairment of the concession. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Impairment" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.74% of the time. "Impairment" is used about 384 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.74% | 383 | 14,369 |
| Noun (common) | 0.26% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 384 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "impairment": Capital impairment ♦ Cognitive impairment ♦ field impairment testing ♦ hearing impairment ♦ impairment of hearing ♦ injury impairment scale ♦ Intellectual impairment ♦ ofactory impairment ♦ percentage of hearing impairment ♦ Physician Impairment ♦ Professional Impairment ♦ speech impairment ♦ visual impairment. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "impairment": impairment-as-flaw. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
hearing impairment | 98 |
visual impairment | 67 |
vision impairment | 38 |
impairment | 23 |
impairment rating | 20 |
guide to the evaluation of permanent impairment | 20 |
speech impairment | 18 |
cognitive impairment | 17 |
language impairment | 17 |
generator impairment | 16 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "impairment"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | dëmtim (damnification, defacement, defect, deterioration, detriment, disadvantage, disservice, failure, harm, hurt, injury, lesion, Mar, wound), dëm (damage, Dent, detriment, disadvantage, harm, injury, insalubrity, lesion, maleficence, mischief, mischievousness, noxiousness, prejudice, scathe, violence). (various references) | |
Arabic | تدهور (break down, breakdown, crumble, decadence, decay, deteriorate, deterioration, drop, go to pot, go to the bad, retrogradation, run to seed, sour, suffer, tumble), ضعف (attenuation, backwardness, crack, craze, debility, decrepitude, defect, delicacy, emaciation, enervation, failing, failure, fainting, feebleness, flabbiness, flightiness, frailness, frailty, grogginess, imitators, impotence, inadequacy, incapability, infirmity, lameness, languor, limp, limpness, shakiness, sickliness, sleeplessness, tenuousness, twice, uneasiness, weak spot, weaklings, weakness), إعتلال (ailment, morbidness, sickness). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | уронване, накърняване (derogation, detraction, invasion, lesion), намаляване (abatement, abridgement, attenuation, ax, axe, comminution, contraction, decrement, deduction, degression, depletion, diminution, dipping, lessening, reduction, relaxation, shrinkage, wane), повреждане (damage, ill use). (various references) | |
Chinese | 损伤 (Damage, Damages, Detriment, Detrimental). (various references) | |
Czech | zhoršení (aggravation, degradation, deterioration). (various references) | |
Danish | svigtende førerduelighed, svækkelse (extinction), skade (accident, blue skate, burst, common European skate, damage, detriment, flapper skate, injury, loss, magpie, skate), læsion (lesion), forringelse (degeneratio, degeneration, degradation, degrade, deterioration, spoilage), degradation (degradation). (various references) | |
Dutch | zwakheid (weakness), stoornis (hindrance, perturbation, trouble), degradatie (decomposition, degradation, degrade, solodisation, solodization, solotization), defect (abnormality, breakdown, broken, broken down, crystal defect, damage, damaged, defect, deficiency, deformity, failure, fault, malformation, out of order), beperking (constraint, containment, disability, limitation, restriction), aftakeling. (various references) | |
Finnish | puute (defect, deficiency, deficit, deprivation, failing, lack, shortage, shortcoming, want), laadun huononeminen (degradation), huononeminen (degradation), heikkous (failing, faintness, feebleness, foible, frailty, infirmity, weak point, weakness), degradaatio (degradation). (various references) | |
French | infirmité, préjudice, faiblesse (impotency), détérioration,dégradation,amputation, détérioration, dégradation, déficience, défaillance, atteinte. (various references) | |
German | beeinträchtigung (damage, derogation, detracting, detraction, disturbance, handicap, harm, interference, nuisance, prejudice, reduction, restriction, spoiling). (various references) | |
Greek | βλάβη (average, breakdown, damage, defect, detriment, failure, hard error, hardware error, harm, hurt, injury, lesion, maleficence, mischief, trauma, vitiation), μειωμένη ικανότητα οδήγησης, υποβάθμιση (blight, decay, degradation, deskilling of jobs, downgrading, downgrading of jobs, encroachment, obsolescence), χειροτέρευση (deterioration), ελάττωση (abatement, cut, decline, decrease, decrement, deepening, diminution, fall-off, reduction, remission, wane), ανεπάρκεια (deficiency, deficit, elimination, failure, inadequacy, inefficacy, inefficiency, insufficency, insufficiency, scantness, shortage), αναπηρία (disability, handicap, infirmity, invalidity). (various references) | |
Hungarian | gyengülés (attenuation, fading away, weakening), rongálás (abuse, defacement, dilapidation, injury), megrontás (corruption, depravation, seduction, vitiation), megrongálás (mutilation), megromlás (depravation, deterioration, mouldering), károsodás (lesion). (various references) | |
Indonesian | perusakan (attrition, defacement, destruction). (various references) | |
Italian | menomazione (disablement). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 侵害 (infringement, trespass, violation). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | し"がい (48th of the sexagenary cycle, infringement, new tax, regrettable, shock, terror, trespass, unthinkable, violation, wholly unexpected). (various references) | |
Korean | 손상 (Damage, Damages, Damaging). (various references) | |
Manx | milley (blemish, blemish as work, blur, blur as vision, botch, corrupt, corruption, debauch; marring, deflower, despoil, despoliation; thousand, disfigure, disfigurement, impair, mar, muff, murder, ruin, spoil, spoiling, tarnish), leodaghey (decrease, degrade, depreciate, detract, diminish, diminution; detractor; cheap, diminution; detractor; cheap morally, dislike, disparage, disparagement, disrespect, drop, dull; reduction, impair, mitigate, mitigation, offset, reduce, remission, subtract, undervalue). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | impairmentay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | prejuízo (damage, damnification, disadvantage, dissever, harm, havoc, hobble, hurt, ill, injury, injustice, lesion, loss, mischief, prejudice, scathe), diminuição (abatement, abridgement, abridgment, cutback, decrease, decrement, depletion, derogation, diminution, dissipation, fall-off, reduction, release, remission, retrenchment, shrinkage, sinking, wane), dano (damage, damnification, detriment, harm, hurt, injury, loss, mischief, prejudice, scathe, tort). (various references) | |
Romanian | subminare (sap), stricare (corruption, perversion, spoilage), deteriorare (atrophy, defacement, deterioration, disrepair). (various references) | |
Russian | ухудшение (aggravation, decadence, decadency, decline, deformation, depravation, deterioration, down grade, letdown). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | pogoršanost, pogoršanje (deterioration, exacerbation). (various references) | |
Spanish | discapacidad (disability). (various references) | |
Swedish | försämring (debasement, degeneration, degradation, derogation, deterioration, failure). (various references) | |
Turkish | zayıflatma (debilitation, emasculation, enervation), bozulma (breach, breakdown, breakup, confusion, corrosion, corruption, decay, declension, decomposition, deformation, degeneration, degradation, derogation, deterioration, devolution, disfiguration, disfigurement, disruption, dissolution, infection, pollution, putrefaction, rancidity, rancidness, rottenness, shipwreck, spoilage, taint, undoing, upset), bozma (annulment, breach, breaking, cancel, cancellation, changing, corruption, defacement, dislocation, dissolution, exchange, infraction, infringement, mutilation, obliteration, perversion, ruining, spoiling, stain, violation, vitiation), azalma (abatement, alleviation, attenuation, decline, decrease, decrement, degradation, diminution, drop, falling away, falling off, let up, letdown, reduce, reduction, remission, scale down, shortening, subsidence, wane). (various references) | |
Ukranian | пошкодження (damage, disturbance, hurt, lesion), погіршення (aggravation, decadence, deterioration, exaggeration, let down). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | sự suy yếu (labefaction, weakening), sự sút kém sự l m hư hỏng, sự l m suy yếu (depauperation, enervation), sự l m sút kém, sự l m hư hại, sự hư hại, sự hư hỏng. (various references) | |
Welsh | amhariad (damage). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "impairment": impairments. (additional references) | |
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"Impairment" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: emparkment, impairement, imparement, imparment. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "impairment" (pronounced i'mpe"rmunt) |
| 5 | -r m u n t | debarment, disbarment, dormant, endearment, formant, garment, informant, procurement, requirement, undergarment. |
| 4 | -m u n t | abandonment, abatement, accompaniment, accomplishment, accouterment, achievement, acknowledgement, acknowledgment, adamant, adjournment, adjustment, adornment, advancement, advertisement, advisement, aggrandizement, agreement, ailment, alignment, allotment, amazement, amendment, amusement, announcement, annulment, antigovernment, apartment, appeasement, appointment, apportionment, argument, armament, arraignment, arrangement, assessment, assignment, assortment, astonishment, atonement, attachment, attainment, banishment, basement, battlement, bemusement, bereavement, betterment, bewilderment, blandishment, bombardment, claimant, Clement, commandment, commencement, commitment, compartment, complement, comportment, concealment, condiment, confinement, consignment, containment, contentment, copayment, curtailment, debasement, deferment, department, deployment, deportment, derailment, detachment, determent, detriment, development, diminishment, disagreement, disappointment, disarmament, disbursement, discernment, discouragement, disenchantment, disenfranchisement, disengagement, disestablishment, disgruntlement, disillusionment, disinvestment, dismantlement, dismemberment, displacement, divestment, easement, element, embankment, embarrassment, embayment, embellishment, embezzlement, embodiment, emplacement, employment, empowerment, enactment, encampment, enchantment, encirclement, encouragement, encroachment, endangerment, endorsement, endowment, enforcement, engagement, enhancement, enjoyment, enlargement, enlightenment, enlistment, enrichment, enrollment, enslavement, entanglement, entertainment, enticement, entitlement, entombment, entrapment, entrenchment, environment, equipment, escapement, escarpment, establishment, estrangement, excitement, excrement, experiment, extinguishment, figment, filament, fragment, fulfillment, garnishment, government, harassment, impeachment, impediment, implement, impoundment, impoverishment, impressment, imprisonment, improvement, incitement, inclement, increment, indictment, inducement, infotainment, infringement, installment, instrument, integument, internment, intersegment, investment, involvement, judgement, judgment, ligament, maltreatment, management, measurement, micromanagement, misgovernment, misjudgment, mismanagement, misstatement, mistreatment, moment, monument, movement, nongovernment, nonmanagement, nonpayment, nourishment, ointment, ornament, orpiment, outplacement, overpayment, overstatement, parchment, parliament, pavement, payment, pigment, placement, postponement, postretirement, predicament, prejudgment, prepayment, presentment, pronouncement, punishment, puzzlement, readjustment, realignment, reappointment, reapportionment, rearmament, rearrangement, reassessment, reassignment, recruitment, redeployment, redevelopment, reemployment, reenactment, refinement, refreshment, refurbishment, regiment, reimbursement, reinforcement, reinstatement, reinvestment, repayment, replacement, replenishment, resentment, resettlement, restatement, retirement, retrenchment, rudiment, sacrament, sediment, segment, sentiment, settlement, shipment, statement, supplement, temperament, tenement, testament, tournament, treatment, underdevelopment, underemployment, underpayment, understatement, unemployment, vehement, wonderment. |
| 3 | -u n t | aberrant, abhorrent, abortifacient, absent, absorbent, abstinent, abundant, accelerant, accident, accountant, adherent, adjacent, adjutant, adolescent, afferent, affiant, affluent, agent, ambient, ambivalent, ancient, antecedent, antidepressant, antioxidant, apparent, applicant, ardent, argent, arrant, arrogant, ascendant, aspirant, assailant, assistant, astringent, attendant, belligerent, beneficent, benevolent, blatant, brilliant, buoyant, celebrant, clairvoyant, client, coefficient, cogent, cognizant, coherent, coincident, combatant, competent, complacent, complainant, complaisant, compliant, component, concomitant, concurrent, confident, confluent, consequent, consistent, consonant, constant, constituent, consultant, contaminant, contestant, continent, contingent, convalescent, convenient, convent, convergent, conversant, coolant, corespondent, cormorant, correspondent, Courant, covenant, Crescent, crosscurrent, current, decadent, decedent, decent, declarant, decongestant, defendant, defiant, deficient, defoliant, delinquent, deodorant, dependent, depressant, descendant, descendent, despondent, detergent, determinant, deterrent, deviant, different, diligent, discordant, disinfectant, disobedient, dispersant, dissident, dissonant, distant, divalent, divergent, docent, dominant, ebullient, efferent, effervescent, efficient, effluent, elegant, elephant, eloquent, emergent, emigrant, eminent, entrant, equivalent, errant, esculent, evanescent, evident, excellent, exigent, existent, exorbitant, expectant, expectorant, expedient, exponent, extant, extravagant, exuberant, exultant, Fabricant, fervent, flagrant, flamboyant, flatulent, flippant, fluent, fluorescent, fragrant, fraudulent, frequent, gallant, giant, grandiloquent, grandparent, hesitant, hydrant, ignorant, immanent, immigrant, imminent, impatient, impertinent, important, impotent, imprudent, inadvertent, incandescent, incessant, incident, incipient, incoherent, incompetent, inconsistent, incontinent, inconvenient, incumbent, indecent, independent, indifferent, indigent, indignant, indolent, indulgent, inefficient, infant, infrequent, ingredient, inhabitant, inhalant, inherent, innocent, inpatient, insignificant, insistent, insolent, insolvent, instant, insufficient, insurgent, intelligent, intercurrent, interdependent, intermittent, intolerant, intransigent, invariant, iridescent, irrelevant, irreverent, irritant, itinerant, jubilant, latent, leant, lenient, lieutenant, litigant, lubricant, lucent, luminescent, luxuriant, magnificent, malevolent, malignant, merchant, migrant, militant, miscreant, monovalent, mordant, mutant, nascent, negligent, noncombatant, nonexistent, nonresident, nonviolent, nutrient, obedient, observant, obsolescent, occupant, odorant, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, operant, opponent, opulent, outpatient, overconfident, oxidant, pageant, parent, participant, patent, patient, peasant, penchant, pendant, penitent, pennant, percipient, permanent, persistent, pertinent, petulant, pheasant, piquant, pleasant, pliant, poignant, pollutant, potent, preadolescent, precedent, predominant, preeminent, pregnant, prescient, present, prevalent, proficient, prominent, propellant, proponent, protestant, provident, prudent, prurient, pungent, pursuant, quadrant, quiescent, quotient, radiant, rampant, reagent, recalcitrant, recent, recipient, recombinant, recurrent, redundant, refrigerant, Regent, registrant, relevant, reliant, reluctant, reminiscent, remnant, repellent, repentant, repugnant, resident, resilient, resistant, resonant, resplendent, respondent, resultant, resurgent, retardant, reticent, reverent, rodent, ruminant, salient, seafront, sealant, semipermanent, Sequent, sergeant, serpent, servant, significant, silent, solvent, somnolent, stagnant, stimulant, strident, stringent, student, subcontinent, subsequent, subservient, succulent, sufficient, supergiant, superintendent, supplicant, suppressant, surfactant, talent, tangent, tenant, tetravalent, tolerant, torrent, transcendent, transient, translucent, transparent, trenchant, trident, triumphant, truant, truculent, tumescent, turbulent, tyrant, undercurrent, unimportant, unpleasant, unrepentant, urgent, vacant, vagrant, valiant, variant, verdant, vibrant, vigilant, violent, virulent, warrant. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-i-i-m-m-n-p-r-t" | |
-2 letters: maritime, paintier. | |
-3 letters: airtime, impaint, imperia, imprint, inertia, interim, intimae, marmite, martini, minaret, mintier, painter, pertain, primate, primine, raiment, repaint, termini, timpani. | |
-4 letters: airmen, ammine, armpit, arpent, enrapt, entrap, etamin, imaret, immane, impair, impart, inmate, intima, intime, maimer, marine, marten, martin, merman, minima, minter, mitier, panier, pantie, parent, patine, permit, pineta, pinier, pinite, pirate, pitier, pitman, pitmen, preman, pterin, rapine, rapini, ratine, remain, remint, retain, retina, tamein, tammie, tamper, tiepin, tinier, trepan. | |
-5 letters: aimer, ament, amine, anime, animi, antre, apter, armet, arpen, atrip, entia, imine, inapt, inarm, inept, inert, inter, irate, mamie, mater, matin, meant, menta, merit, mimer, minae, miner, minim, miter, mitre, namer, niter, nitre, paint, paten, pater, patin, peart, pieta, pinta, prate, prima, prime, primi, print, ramen, ramet, ramie, reman, remap, remit, repin, retia, riant, ripen, tamer, taper, tapir, tempi, tenia, terai, timer, tinea, train, tramp, trine, tripe. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-i-i-m-m-n-p-r-t" | |
+1 letter: impairments. | |
+3 letters: pyrimethamine. | |
+4 letters: pyrimethamines. | |
+5 letters: complimentarily, enantiomorphism, epigrammatizing, experimentalism, immunotherapies. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)49 6D 70 61 69 72 6D 65 6E 74 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references).. -- .--. .- .. .-. -- . -. - |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01001001 01101101 01110000 01100001 01101001 01110010 01101101 01100101 01101110 01110100 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)I m p a i r m e n t |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0049 006D 0070 0061 0069 0072 006D 0065 006E 0074 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)43798267758479718086 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Quotations: Historic 6. Quotations: Non-fiction 7. Quotations: Speeches 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Expressions 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Derivations | 13. Rhymes 14. Anagrams 15. Orthography 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
