im·pair

verb

/ɪmˈpeə(r)/

/ɪmˈper/

(formal)

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they impair	/ɪmˈpeə(r)/ /ɪmˈper/
he / she / it impairs	/ɪmˈpeəz/ /ɪmˈperz/
past simple impaired	/ɪmˈpeəd/ /ɪmˈperd/
past participle impaired	/ɪmˈpeəd/ /ɪmˈperd/
-ing form impairing	/ɪmˈpeərɪŋ/ /ɪmˈperɪŋ/

impair something to damage something or make something worse损害；削弱
- His age impaired his chances of finding a new job.他的年龄削弱了他找到新工作的机会。
Synonyms damage
damagehurt ▪ harm ▪ impairThese words all mean to have a bad effect on somebody/something.
damage to cause physical harm to something, making it less attractive, useful or valuable; to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
The fire badly damaged the town hall.火灾使市政厅遭到严重破坏。
emotionally damaged children感情上受伤害的孩子
hurt (rather informal) to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
Hard work never hurt anyone.努力工作绝无害处。
harm to have a bad effect on somebody/something’s life, health, happiness or chances of success:
Pollution can harm marine life.污染会危及海洋生物。
damage, hurt or harm?Hurt is slightly less formal than damage or harm, especially when it is used in negative statements: It won’t hurt him to have to wait a bit. • It won’t damage/harm him to have to wait a bit. Harm is also often used to talk about ways in which things in the natural world such as wildlife and the environment are affected by human activity.
impair (rather formal) to damage somebody’s health, abilities or chances:
Even one drink can impair driving performance.即使一杯酒也可能影响驾驶操作。
Patterns
- to damage/hurt/harm/impair somebody’s chances
- to damage/hurt/harm somebody’s interests/reputation
- to damage/harm/impair somebody’s health
- to seriously/greatly damage/hurt/harm/impair somebody/something
- to badly/severely damage/hurt/impair somebody/something
Extra Examples
- Even one drink can impair driving performance.即使一杯酒也可能影响驾驶操作。
- There are a number of factors which can directly impair memory.有一些因素会直接损害记忆力。
- a defect that significantly impairs the safety of a car严重削弱车辆安全性能的缺陷
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- dramatically
- greatly
- markedly
- …
phrases
- severely impaired
Word OriginMiddle English enpeire, from Old French empeirier, based on late Latin pejorare (from Latin pejor ‘worse’). The current spelling is due to association with words derived from Latin beginning with im-.