Distress vs. Impairment: What's the Difference?

Distress and Impairment Definitions
Distress
To cause strain, anxiety, or suffering to.
Impairment
To cause to weaken, be damaged, or diminish, as in quality
An injury that impaired my hearing.
A severe storm impairing communications.
Distress
To mar or otherwise treat (an object or fabric, for example) to give the appearance of an antique or of heavy prior use.
Impairment
The result of being impaired
Distress
(Archaic) To constrain or overcome by harassment.
ADVERTISEMENT
Impairment
A deterioration or weakening
Distress
Anxiety or mental suffering.
Impairment
A disability or handicap
Visual impairment
Distress
Bodily dysfunction or discomfort caused by disease or injury
Respiratory distress.
Impairment
An inefficient part or factor.
ADVERTISEMENT
Distress
Physical deterioration, as of a highway, caused by hard use over time
Pavement distress.
Impairment
(accounting) A downward revaluation, a write-down.
Distress
The condition of being in need of immediate assistance
A motorist in distress.
Impairment
The state, act, or process of being impaired; injury.
Distress
Suffering caused by poverty
Programs to relieve public distress.
ADVERTISEMENT
Impairment
The occurrence of a change for the worse
Distress
(Law) The act of distraining or seizing goods to compel payment or other satisfaction for a debt or other duty owed; distraint.
Impairment
A symptom of reduced quality or strength
Distress
Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature.
Impairment
The condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness;
Reading disability
Hearing impairment
Distress
A cause of such discomfort.
Impairment
Damage that results in a reduction of strength or quality
Distress
Serious danger.
Impairment
The act of making something futile and useless (as by routine)
Distress
(medicine) An aversive state of stress to which a person cannot fully adapt.
Distress
(legal) A seizing of property without legal process to force payment of a debt.
Distress
(legal) The thing taken by distraining; that which is seized to procure satisfaction.
Distress
To cause strain or anxiety to someone.
Distress
(legal) To retain someone’s property against the payment of a debt; to distrain.
Distress
To treat a new object to give it an appearance of age.
A pair of distressed jeans
She distressed the new media cabinet so that it fit with the other furniture in the room.
Distress
Extreme pain or suffering; anguish of body or mind; as, to suffer distress from the gout, or from the loss of friends.
Not fearing death nor shrinking for distress.
Distress
That which occasions suffering; painful situation; misfortune; affliction; misery.
Affliction's sons are brothers in distress.
Distress
A state of danger or necessity; as, a ship in distress, from leaking, loss of spars, want of provisions or water, etc.
Distress
The act of distraining; the taking of a personal chattel out of the possession of a wrongdoer, by way of pledge for redress of an injury, or for the performance of a duty, as for nonpayment of rent or taxes, or for injury done by cattle, etc.
If he were not paid, he would straight go and take a distress of goods and cattle.
The distress thus taken must be proportioned to the thing distrained for.
Distress
To cause pain or anguish to; to pain; to oppress with calamity; to afflict; to harass; to make miserable.
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.
Distress
To compel by pain or suffering.
Men who can neither be distressed nor won into a sacrifice of duty.
Distress
To seize for debt; to distrain.
Distress
Psychological suffering;
The death of his wife caused him great distress
Distress
A state of adversity (danger or affliction or need);
A ship in distress
She was the classic maiden in distress
Distress
Extreme physical pain;
The patient appeared to be in distress
Distress
The seizure and holding of property as security for payment of a debt or satisfaction of a claim;
Originally distress was a landloard's remedy against a tenant for unpaid rents or property damage but now the landlord is given a landlord's lien
Distress
Cause mental pain to;
The news of her child's illness distressed the mother