Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: empeirer, from Vulgar Latin impejorare, from Late Latin pejorare 'to make worse'

impair

 verb
     
im‧pair [transitive]
to damage something or make it not as good as it should be:
The illness had impaired his ability to think and concentrate.
—impairment noun [uncountable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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