destabilize

[dee-stey-buh-lahyz]

verb (used with object), de·sta·bi·lized, de·sta·bi·liz·ing.

to make unstable; rid of stabilizing attributes: conflicts that tend to destabilize world peace.

Also especially British, de·sta·bi·lise.

Origin of destabilize

First recorded in 1930–35; de- + stabilize

Related formsde·sta·bi·li·za·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for destabilization

Contemporary Examples of destabilization

“They all have one objective: destabilization in order to ‘prepare’ for the elections in autumn,” he said.
Is This Putin’s Next Target?
Josh Rogin
May 23, 2014
“This request went in right after the Russians seized Crimea before the destabilization campaign in the east started,” he said.
U.S. Waited Months to Send Ukraine Spare Tires
Eli Lake
May 16, 2014
They see this process as one in which destabilization of the existing order is not only necessary but inevitable.
The New World Disorder
Joshua Cooper Ramo
April 7, 2009

British Dictionary definitions for destabilization

destabilize

destabilise

verb

(tr) to undermine or subvert (a government, economy, etc) so as to cause unrest or collapse

Derived Formsdestabilization or destabilisation, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for destabilization

destabilize

1934 in a physical sense; earlier (1924) with reference to political systems, governments, nations, etc.; see de- + stabilize. Related: Destabilized; destabilizing.