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.
-
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.
The security ministry also issued a statement expressing opposition to "bombings by international warships targeting civilians" that "undermined co-operation… in combatting piracy", and demanded an immediate explanation for why they were carried out.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
The terms “were uneconomic, unfair and undermined the net benefits for Canada, and called into question the reliability of any deal,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Patterson's barrister Richard Edney said this "catastrophic" situation had "undermined the integrity of the verdicts and requires the quashing of the convictions".
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The defense attorney, in an unusual move, repeatedly undermined his own client’s credibility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
That scene, however, in no way undermined his professional reputation, although he too was unable to fix Covadonga’s brakes.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
