destabilize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of destabilize
Explanation
To destabilize something is to undermine it, or to make it much less stable. Seeming uncertain or confused can destabilize a teacher's ability to control a class. Political protesters might seek to destabilize a government or other institution, and lying to your best friend can destabilize your relationship. In both cases, the underlying stability of a situation is shaken, or made less sturdy. The earliest use of destabilize was in a physical sense, if something was literally unstable or shaky. By the 1920s, the word came to also have a more political meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing destabilize
Africa - Middle School
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Africa - High School
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Earth Science - Middle School
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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.
It said that he returned "with the intent to destabilize" the country and that he provided financial support to the M23's political arm.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
Critics worry that such a move would destabilize the economy and cause mortgage rates to spike.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026
The Netflix series gets a feature-film coda starring Cillian Murphy and Barry Keoghan, following the Shelby family as it becomes entangled in a German plan to destabilize the British economy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
Instead of protecting cells, the heightened repair activity can harm neurons and destabilize the genome, which may increase the risk of cancer.
From Science Daily • Mar. 15, 2026
“It seems to me that you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!”
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
