View synonyms for undermine

undermine

[ uhn-der-mahyn uhn-der-mahyn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

, un·der·mined, un·der·min·ing.

to injure or destroy by insidious activity or imperceptible stages, sometimes tending toward a sudden dramatic effect.
to attack by indirect, secret, or underhand means; attempt to subvert by stealth.
to make an excavation under; dig or tunnel beneath, as a military stronghold.
to weaken or cause to collapse by removing underlying support, as by digging away or eroding the foundation.

undermine

/ ˌʌndəˈmaɪn /

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English underminen; under-, mine ²

The most dangerous attacks are those that undermine your perceived strength.

The ACLU and its allies are trying to undermine the holiday with lawsuits and annoying billboards.

One lefty tweeter even complained that an invasion of icky American tourists would undermine “family values” in Cuba.

We “undermine” our nature every time we use glasses or medicine, after all.

His detractors tried to undermine his standing with Reagan, but he had support from an unlikely source—hard-line conservatives.

The influence of the Jews had helped also to undermine heathenism and thus to prepare the ground for Christianity.

While an attempt is made to undermine his claim to wisdom, it will incidentally appear that wisdom was ascribed to him.

You remember it, Dean, I thought him a villain when I learned how he was trying to undermine you.

With cynical cruelty, he set himself to insult, to undermine, to mutilate it.

Mr J. (still seeking, as I could see, to undermine me in his friend's favour).

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