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Defective vs Impaired - What's the difference?

defective | impaired |

As adjectives the difference between defective and impaired

is that defective is having one or more defects while impaired is rendered less effective.

As nouns the difference between defective and impaired

is that defective is a person considered to be defective while impaired is a criminal charge for impaired driving.

As a verb impaired is

past tense of impair.

defective

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Having one or more defects.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-03
    • , author= , title=The Smallest Cell , volume=101, issue=2, page=83 , magazine= citation , passage=It is likely that the long evolutionary trajectory of Mycoplasma went from a reductive autotroph to oxidative heterotroph to a cell-wall–defective degenerate parasite. This evolutionary trajectory assumes the simplicity to complexity route of biogenesis, a point of view that is not universally accepted.}}
  • lacking some forms; e.g., having only one tense or being usable only in the third person.

    • Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "defective" is often applied: merchandise, goods, part, component, product, equipment, gene, unit, construction, design, drug, memory, wiring, machine, device, instrument, hardware, software, vehicle.

    Synonyms

    * faulty

    Related terms

    * defect * defection * defector * deficiency * deficient * deficit

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A person considered to be defective.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2007, date=January 15, author=Bernard E. Harcourt, title=The Mentally Ill, Behind Bars, work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=There were many more kinds of mental institutions at mid-century, ones for “mental defectives and epileptics” and the mentally retarded, psychiatric wards in veterans hospitals, as well as “psychopathic” and private mental hospitals. }}

    See also

    *

    impaired

    English

    Adjective

    (head)
  • Rendered less effective
    • His impaired driving skill due to alcohol caused the accident.
  • inebriated, drunk.

    • Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "impaired" is often applied: vision, hearing, mobility, healing, fertility, health, judgment, cognition, consciousness, memory, concentration, function, performance, ability, capacity, person, child, adult. * Adverbs often applied to "impaired": visually, physically, mentally, emotionally, cognitively.

    Verb

    (head)
  • (impair)

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • A criminal charge for impaired driving.
    • The cop gave me an impaired .