destabilize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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destabilizesimple
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destabilizessimple
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have destabilizedperfect
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has destabilizedperfect
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am destabilizingprogressive
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are destabilizingprogressive
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is destabilizingprogressive
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have been destabilizingperfect progressive
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has been destabilizingperfect progressive
Past
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destabilizedsimple
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had destabilizedperfect
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was destabilizingprogressive
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were destabilizingprogressive
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had been destabilizingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
Repeated gravitational nudges from Jupiter can gradually destabilize asteroids in this region.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
California’s budget experts have warned that maintaining full Medi-Cal coverage for immigrants without seeking additional revenue would destabilize the state’s long-term fiscal outlook.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Strong winds can destabilize the spinning column or cause it to collapse altogether.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2026
“Mythos could find and exploit vulnerabilities in every major operating system and web browser—even when used by non-experts,” it said, foreshadowing how AI-driven cyber risks could destabilize the financial system if not managed carefully.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
They might “build on public panic to further destabilize the system by disseminating rumors” and therefore “increase media coverage” and “stress the public health system.”
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
SYDNEY—New Zealand’s economic recovery remained frustratingly tentative in the fourth quarter of last year, with economists warning that the outlook faces fresh threats as the war in the Middle East destabilizes the world economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
It spreads into South Sudan, it destabilizes South Sudan, it spreads into Chad, it’s got refugees in Egypt.
From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2025
Nick’s energized romantic do-si-do destabilizes the group, and gives them something new to gossip about and compare their own lives with as they wobble through the ensuing year.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025
This enzyme destabilizes the proteins in the milk – the proteins then aggregate together and make a gel.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2024
This process destabilizes the jet stream and changes storm tracks and wind patterns over the major sources of dust in West and South Asia.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024
Their results indicate that about eight out of 10 planets around tight binary stars would be destabilized, and most of those would ultimately be destroyed.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026
Even if the active fighting ends within weeks, the deeper concern is whether a destabilized Iran becomes a permanent source of risk on Dubai’s doorstep.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
Surging energy prices destabilized stocks trading in Asia and Europe on Monday.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026
Meanwhile, Tuesday marked four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine — a war that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and destabilized European security.
From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2026
I thought Ocean would wake up, dizzy and destabilized by this emotional train wreck to discover that it hadn’t been worth it, actually; that I hadn’t been worth it.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
And this stoic performance comes despite a number of potentially destabilizing factors, including volatility in the oil market and in the technology sector.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Watching egocentrism augment in real time, on a mass scale, is as heartbreaking and destabilizing as death itself.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
Instead of targeting genetic mutations, the team found a method for destabilizing the machinery cancer cells use to repair DNA.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
“When fragility in parts of the system make each interest rate change potentially destabilizing, the central bank sees its room for maneuver curtailed,” Lagarde said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Over and over again, I heard the same story: the police and the defense force were destabilizing the area.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
