IMPAIRING Synonyms: 97 Similar and Opposite Words

impairing

verb

present participle of impair

as in damaging

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of already impaired by a crack, the windshield shattered upon impact with the baseball

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of impairing The task is to match instruments to problems and restore financial stability to its proper place in the Fed’s framework, without unnecessarily impairing the capital formation on which America’s long-run competitiveness may depend. — Joao Gomes, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026 At the same time sweeping farm loan waivers have been criticized for impairing credit discipline, draining the public exchequer, and discouraging lending. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Aug. 2026 Chronic stress also reshapes the prefrontal cortex, impairing our ability to manage stress overall. — Erin Clabough, The Conversation, 31 July 2026 Researchers found that even a few days of a high-fat diet resembling cheeseburgers and fries disrupted CCK interneurons in the hippocampus, impairing memory. — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 21 July 2026 The complete assembly weighs just enough for the Madagascar hissing cockroach, a species favored for cyborg research because of its large size, robustness, and wingless body, to carry without significantly impairing its movement. — New Atlas, 18 July 2026 Noise from a data center in Dowagiac, Michigan, has prompted a class-action lawsuit, with residents saying the noise is impairing their lives. — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 17 July 2026 That match carries a 70% probability of performance-impairing heat. — Carlos Roa, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 June 2026 The death was classified as natural, with the pathologist noting that long-term alcohol use can increase the risk of aspiration pneumonia by impairing several of the body's protective reflexes and immune functions. — Angelique Brenes, PEOPLE, 24 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for impairing

Verb

Prosecutors have also charged him with making false statements to investigators about allegedly damaging Mica’s car tires.

— Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026
Russian drones hit three major distribution centers, destroying depots belonging to a toy store chain and a confectionery company, and damaging another run by an electronics retailer, the companies said.

— Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of damaging

Verb

Scott Quigley, then embedded with the Middlesex DA’s office, crashed his cruiser into a wheelchair van in December 2023, injuring a man inside who died at the hospital a month later.

— Boston Herald editorial staff, Boston Herald, 25 Aug. 2026
In 2021, a teen was arrested after wounding two students and injuring two others in a shooting at a high school in Newport News, Virginia.

— Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of injuring

Verb

To prevent a similar war from happening again, Menelaus scarred her face, permanently marring her famous beauty.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
Lined with live oaks and old-fashioned, busy storefronts, this artsy town on the Gulf of Mexico has no commercial development marring its shoreline.

— Valerie Fraser Luesse, Southern Living, 16 June 2026

Definition of marring

Verb

For Zarina Pino, a medical doctor, the calendar change this year feels particularly meaningful, as a Miami-Dade County Public Schools alumna herself who never got to embrace the holiday without compromising her schoolwork.

— Jimena Tavel, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026
Luxury fibers introduce refined sensory qualities without compromising denim’s structure.

— Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of compromising

Verb

And the high pay they’re being offered as a lure is crippling the economy.

— The Week UK, TheWeek, 15 Aug. 2026
Trump claims the United States has opened the strait to all commercial ships other than those from Iran, crippling Iran's economy because of its reliance on oil exports.

— Joey Garrison, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of crippling

Verb

Throughout this year, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been weakening the Navy’s leadership by blocking the promotion of nearly 20 admirals.

— Andrea N. Goldstein, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
Wheat futures hit their highest level in more than three years as the war in Ukraine strained supplies, further weakening the global food system.

— Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of weakening

Browse Nearby Words

impaired

impairing

impairment

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“Impairing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impairing. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of impairing

verb

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