How to Use impair in a Sentence

impair

verb
  • Smoking can impair your health.
  • His memory was so impaired by age that he often forgot where he was.
  • Drinking impairs a person's ability to think clearly.
  • Neither of the drivers were impaired at the time of the crash.
    — Gwendolyn Wu, Houston Chronicle, 17 Nov. 2019
  • In a video from the bar that night, DJ does not appear to be impaired.
    — James Brown, CBS News, 22 June 2019
  • Police said the driver of the SUV was not impaired during the crash.
    — Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2023
  • This does not impair my enjoyment of the Gorn episodes in the prequel.
    — Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 Sep. 2023
  • This can impair blood flow out of the heart and cause fluid to back up in your lungs and throughout your body.
    — Angela Ryan Lee, Health, 28 Dec. 2024
  • It is not known whether the man was impaired or intoxicated at the time of the crash.
    — Samantha Ketterer, Houston Chronicle, 12 July 2018
  • Pedregon was not injured and appeared to be impaired at the time of the crash, Thompson said.
    — Kaila White, azcentral, 7 July 2018
  • Steele showed up to work late the day of Owen’s transport and appeared to be impaired, the attorneys said.
    — Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 30 May 2024
  • When placed over a cloth mask, a costume mask can impair the ability to breathe.
    — David Lindquist, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Oct. 2020
  • The 77-year-old driver is not suspected to have been impaired at the time of the crash, according to GSP.
    — Jordan Culver, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2020
  • This part is important — do not drive if you are impaired in any way.
    — Lauren Delgado, OrlandoSentinel.com, 11 Apr. 2018
  • The driver remained at the scene and did not appear to be impaired, the sheriff’s office said.
    — oregonlive, 1 Sep. 2019
  • Cold, dry air can also impair the second and third tiers of the body’s immune response.
    — Megan Molteni, Wired, 12 Nov. 2020
  • Teachers of the visually impaired could use the videos, as well as kids or adults who want to teach themselves to code.
    — Ally Marotti, chicagotribune.com, 17 May 2018
  • The driver was not believed to have been impaired, police said.
    — Kristina Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 May 2025
  • The car’s damaged hood was impairing the driver’s view.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Aug. 2019
  • All of the students on the tour are legally blind or visually impaired.
    — Emily Himes, miamiherald, 2 July 2018
  • After the crash, she was found to be impaired by alcohol.
    — Christopher Roth, azcentral, 25 Feb. 2020
  • The comparative calm on the crime front has done nothing to impair sales.
    — Andrew Brinker, BostonGlobe.com, 30 July 2022
  • Police noted that Beltran appeared impaired and had blood on his hands and shoes at the time of the arrest.
    — Skylar Heisey, The Arizona Republic, 10 Dec. 2024
  • Smith was not impaired, both the Browns’ statement and CNN reported.
    — Tomás Mier, PEOPLE.com, 20 Sep. 2019
  • Urban sprawl keeps growing, and light pollution from a bright city impairs views of the sky even to those more than 40 miles away.
    — Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Apr. 2023
  • The ants in question were a species that is known to damage trees and is presumed to impair tissue healing.
    — The Economist, 8 Aug. 2019
  • Police said Huizenga was impaired while trying to dock at the wrong house on a Fort Lauderdale canal.
    — Juan Ortega, Sun-Sentinel.com, 4 May 2018
  • The classroom was full of students, all of them blind or visually impaired.
    — Lizzie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 June 2018
  • The chemicals in mushrooms and LSD are less toxic, and rarely lethal on their own, but both drugs can impair judgment and mood in ways that can lead to injury or death.
    — Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 18 Aug. 2025
  • About one in three nutrias hooked wide left, into the crowd, scattering those audience members who weren’t too distracted or impaired to notice.
    — Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impair.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: