undermine
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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.
verb
-
(of the sea, wind, etc) to wear away the bottom or base of (land, cliffs, etc)
-
to weaken gradually or insidiously
their insults undermined her confidence
-
to tunnel or dig beneath
Other Word Forms
- underminer noun
Etymology
Origin of undermine
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English underminen; under-, mine 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They undermine every investigation that the civil service has run.
From BBC
Another risk is that household wealth has been buoyed by years of equity gains, and a sustained selloff could cause consumers to pull back, undermining an engine of economic growth.
If AI devalues knowledge, it undermines the US equity market’s advantage and its S&P 500’s 21x forward earnings.
From Barron's
These would both ease your worries about housing insecurity without undermining your wife’s wish to leave her broader estate to her own children.
From MarketWatch
This sleight of hand directly undermines the intended safeguards in federal law.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
