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Webster 1913 Edition
Impair
Im-pair′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Impaired
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Impairing
.] [Written also
empair
.] [OE.
empeiren
, enpeiren
, OF. empeirier
, empirier
, F. empirer
, LL. impejorare
; L. pref. im-
in + pejorare
to make worse, fr. pejor
worse. Cf. Appair
.] To make worse; to diminish in quantity, value, excellence, or strength; to deteriorate;
as, to
. impair
health, character, the mind, valueTime sensibly all things
impairs
. Roscommon.
Syn. – To diminish; decrease; injure; weaken; enfeeble; debilitate; reduce; debase; deteriorate.
Im-pair′
,Verb.
T.
To grow worse; to deteriorate.
Milton.
Im′pair
,Adj.
[F.
impair
uneven, L. impar
; im-
not + par
equal.] Not fit or appropriate.
[Obs.]
Im-pair′
,Noun.
Diminution; injury.
[Obs.]
Webster 1828 Edition
Impair
IMPA'IR
,Verb.
T.
1.
To make worse; to diminish in quantity, value or excellence. An estate is impaired by extravagance or neglect. The profligate impairs his estate and his reputation.Imprudence impairs a man's usefulness.
2.
To weaken; to enfeeble. The constitution is impaired by intemperance, by infirmity and by age. The force of evidence may be impaired by the suspicion of interest in the witness.IMPA'IR
,Verb.
I.
Definition 2024
impair
impair
English
Alternative forms
- empair (obsolete, rare)
Verb
impair (third-person singular simple present impairs, present participle impairing, simple past and past participle impaired)
- (transitive) To weaken; to affect negatively; to have a diminishing effect on.
- (intransitive, archaic) To grow worse; to deteriorate.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)
Derived terms
Translations
have a diminishing effect on
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Adjective
impair (comparative more impair, superlative most impair)
- (obsolete) Not fit or appropriate.
French
Etymology
Adjective
impair m (feminine singular impaire, masculine plural impairs, feminine plural impaires)
- odd (of a number)
- 3 est un nombre impair. - 3 is an odd number.
Antonyms
Anagrams
References
- “impair” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).