undermined
Americanadjective
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attacked, weakened, or defeated by underhand or seemingly harmless actions or by imperceptible stages.
Both the struggling students and the most gifted ones are receiving limited support from an undermined educational system.
-
weakened or made to collapse by removing underlying support, as by eroding or digging away the foundation.
With the release of material from the undermined cliffs at these sites, we should have had far more sand to feed the beaches, not less.
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deliberately weakened by an excavation or tunnel dug underneath, as by an enemy in war.
When the town was besieged, its defenders abandoned the undermined walls and retired into the citadel.
verb
Etymology
Origin of undermined
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.
Home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf said "young British people are being shut out of entry level jobs and our whole economy is being undermined".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
As the Great Depression undermined traditional sources of financial security — personal savings, work, family support and charity — Roosevelt made social insurance the bedrock of American retirement security.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
The automaker said Tuesday that the sales drop was primarily due to the discontinuation of higher-volume models such as the Escape SUV and the supplier fire that undermined production of F-Series trucks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Burkina, Mali and Niger did so earlier in July, leading the ICC's executive body to voice concern that their departure undermined the global pursuit of justice.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
No, Oppenheimer said: “I have known him longer and closer than you; his fears that he was being, or might be, undermined in his position were a terror for him.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
