impairment
/ɪmˈpɛɹmənt/noun
impairment is spelled I-M-P-A-I-R-M-E-N-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, impairment means “The result of being impaired” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of impairment is impairments.
How many letters and syllables are in impairment?
| Letters | 10: I-M-P-A-I-R-M-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 13,897th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is impairment?
Impairment appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce impairment?
- UK /ɪmˈpɛəmənt/
- US /ɪmˈpɛɹmənt/
- Australia /ɪmˈpeːmənt/
Impairment has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-impairment.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-StuckInLagToad-impairment.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of impairment
- impairments plural
- empairment rare
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does impairment mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The result of being impaired.
- 2
A deterioration or weakening.
- 3
A disability or handicap.
visual impairment
- 4
A loss or absence of baseline human functioning that may lead to a disability.
- 5
An inefficient part or factor.
- 6
A downward revaluation, a write-down.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Impairment in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense result of being impaired:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | handicap |
| German | Verschlechterung, Schwächung, Behinderung, Beeinträchtigung, Minderung, Verminderung |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does impairment come from?
From Middle English empeirement, empeyrement, emparement, from Anglo-Norman empairement, emperement, enpeirement, from Old French ampirement, anpirement, enperement, equivalent to impair + -ment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).