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Harm vs Impairment - What's the difference?

harm | impairment |

As a proper noun harm

is , low german, derived from herman, meaning "army man".

As a noun impairment is

the result of being impaired; a deterioration or weakening; a disability or handicap; an inefficient part or factor.

harm

English

(wikipedia harm)

Noun

(en noun)
  • Injury; hurt; damage; detriment; misfortune.
  • * , chapter=13
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good.}}
  • That which causes injury, damage, or loss.
  • * (William Shakespeare)
    • We, ignorant of ourselves, / Beg often our own harms .

    Usage notes

    * Adjectives often applied to "harm": bodily, physical, environmental, emotional, financial, serious, irreparable, potential, long-term, short-term, permanent, lasting, material, substantial.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To cause injury to another; to hurt; to cause damage to something.

    • Derived terms

    * do no harm * harmer * harmless * harm's way * self-harm * unharmed

    Anagrams

    * ----

    impairment

    English

    Alternative forms

    * empairment (rare)

    Noun

    (wikipedia impairment) (en noun)
  • The result of being impaired; a deterioration or weakening; a disability or handicap; an inefficient part or factor.
  • (accounting) A downward revaluation, a write-down.