im·pair·ment

[im-pair-muhnt]
noun
the state of being diminished, weakened, or damaged, especially mentally or physically: cognitive impairment in older adults.

Origin:
impair+ -ment

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
impair (ɪmˈpɛə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
(tr) to reduce or weaken in strength, quality, etc: his hearing was impaired by an accident
 
[C14: from Old French empeirer to make worse, from Late Latin pējorāre, from Latin pejor worse; see pejorative]
 
im'pairable
 
adj
 
im'pairer
 
n
 
im'pairment
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Impairment is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

impairment im·pair·ment (ĭm-pâr'mənt)
n.
Weakening, damage, or deterioration, especially as a result of injury or disease.


im·pair' v.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
Most go under a general heading of neurological because they reflect some impairment of overall function.
Aphasia is a language impairment secondary to stroke or head trauma.
This, they argue, is the direct cause of memory impairment.
Mental impairment is a common event in advanced cirrhosis.
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