destabilize

[ dee-stey-buh-lahyz ]

/ diˈsteɪ bəˌlaɪz /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for destabilize on Thesaurus.com

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.

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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

Origin of destabilize

First recorded in 1930–35; de- + stabilize

OTHER WORDS FROM destabilize

de·sta·bi·li·za·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use destabilize in a sentence

Corliss knew that big waterfalls can create enough air turbulence to destabilize a parachute, but he was 23 years old at the time, relatively new to the sport and driven by hungers and agonies he hadn’t begun to name.
What’s Wrong with Jeb’s Brain?|Daniel Duane|November 18, 2020|Outside Online
Political misinformation destabilizes the foundations of democracy, causing people to lose trust in democratic processes, information providers and, ultimately, one another.
Five election misinformation campaigns to avoid resharing|By Starbird, West, & DiResta/The Conversation|November 6, 2020|Popular-Science
You can end up with a future where the solar system destabilizes, flinging planets into the sun.
We Never Know Exactly Where We’re Going in Outer Space - Issue 92: Frontiers|Caleb Scharf|November 4, 2020|Nautilus
This process is the mirror image of a consumer transition that has destabilized traditional dental revenues.
Inside American dentistry’s identity crisis|Rachel Schallom|October 27, 2020|Fortune

While the industry has made an impressive recovery in recent months from a staggering 93% business downturn during the shutdown, these circumstances, they say, have only just begun to destabilize the industry.
Inside American dentistry’s identity crisis|Rachel Schallom|October 27, 2020|Fortune
“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|DAILY BEAST
“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|DAILY BEAST
But the apparent climb-down may be more of a pause than a retreat in the progressive destabilization of the Kiev government.
A Putin Climb-Down on Ukraine?|Igor Kossov|May 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The subsequent destabilization of working-class social life likewise varies from country to country.
Is the White Working Class Coming Apart?|David Frum|February 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for destabilize

destabilize

destabilise

/ (diːˈsteɪbɪˌlaɪz) /

verb

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

Derived forms of destabilize

destabilization 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

destabilize

Origin of destabilize

OTHER WORDS FROM destabilize

Words related to destabilize

How to use destabilize in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for destabilize

destabilise

Derived forms of destabilize