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

The leak is a blow for Anthropic because it risks both undermining its reputation for safety and also revealing valuable trade secrets in the pitched battle for enterprise customers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Maybe Kagan sought to prevent the majority opinion from undermining countless other state laws that restrict speech in the medical context.

From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026

The new body, inspired by the IPCC, was recommended in a G20 report authored by Stiglitz, demanding action to address a global "inequality emergency", which it warned was undermining both democracy and economic progress.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

"But what is happening now risks undermining the results of 30 to 35 years of efforts in the fight against the disease."

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

It was clear that a way had to be found to capture the profits of laboratory discoveries without undermining academic standards or constraining scientific inquiry.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• subversion