undermining

American  

[uhn-der-mahy-ning] / ˈʌn dərˌmaɪ nɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or process of injuring, attacking, or destroying something or someone indirectly or by imperceptible degrees, often leading to a dramatic collapse.

   The undermining of Scottish Gaelic as a viable language resulted not from decrees, but from a gradual weakening of independent Scottish institutions.

2. the act or process of weakening something or causing it to collapse by removing its underlying support, as by erosion.

   During the heavy rains, blocked sewers caused the flooding of the basement and the undermining of the wall by water.

3. the act of digging or tunneling underneath something, as a military stronghold.

   The siege works were now close enough to allow the undermining of some of the bastions of the fortress.

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adjective

1. weakening something or someone gradually or indirectly.

   Seating students in rows, so they cannot see each other’s faces, has an undermining effect on their engagement.

2. digging or tunneling underneath something, or removing or eroding its underlying support.

   The land along the shoreline collapsed because of undermining waves and currents.

Other Word Forms

• underminingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of undermining

First recorded in 1350–1400; undermin(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; undermin(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses

Example Sentences

Another risk is that household wealth has been buoyed by years of equity gains, and a sustained selloff could cause consumers to pull back, undermining an engine of economic growth.

From The Wall Street Journal

These would both ease your worries about housing insecurity without undermining your wife’s wish to leave her broader estate to her own children.

From MarketWatch

For Alphabet, there’s also the danger that AI replaces traditional web search, undermining its core cash engine.

From The Wall Street Journal

The coalition, a partnership dating back to the 1940s, has twice split and reunited under her leadership, further undermining her tenure.

From BBC

But there’s no hint in this declaration of their own indispensability or the role journalists themselves have played in undermining the public trust.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• subversion