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- Dictionaryundermining/ˌʌndəˈmʌɪnɪŋ/
noun
- 1. the action or process of lessening the effectiveness, power, or ability of someone or something, especially gradually or insidiously: "the greatest threat of all is the undermining of our Constitution"
adjective
- 1. lessening the effectiveness, power, or ability of someone or something, especially gradually or insidiously: "the last straw was an undermining comment questioning my skills"
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to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually: The president has accused two cabinet members of working secretly to undermine his position /him. Criticism just undermines their confidence. Fewer examples.
1. : to subvert or weaken insidiously or secretly. trying to undermine his political rivals. 2. : to weaken or ruin by degrees. 3. : to wash away supporting material from under. 4. : to excavate the earth beneath : form a mine under: sap. Choose the Right Synonym for undermine.
to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually: The president has accused two cabinet members of working secretly to undermine his position /him. Criticism just undermines their confidence. Fewer examples.
Undermining definition: the act or process of injuring, attacking, or destroying something or someone indirectly or by imperceptible degrees, often leading to a dramatic collapse. See examples of UNDERMINING used in a sentence.
to injure or destroy by insidious activity or imperceptible stages, sometimes tending toward a sudden dramatic effect. to attack by indirect, secret, or underhand means; attempt to subvert by stealth. to make an excavation under; dig or tunnel beneath, as a military stronghold.
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense undermines , present participle undermining , past tense, past participle undermined. 1. verb. If you undermine something such as a feeling or a system, you make it less strong or less secure than it was before, often by a gradual process or by repeated efforts.
To undermine literally means to dig a hole underneath something, making it likely to collapse. But we more often use the word to describe sabotage or the act of weakening someone else's efforts. Originally spelled with a ‘y’ instead of an ‘i’, undermine has Germanic roots and means "to weaken, hinder, or impair."
undermine something to make something weaker at the base, for example by digging under it. Definition of undermine verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
To injure, weaken, or impair, esp. by subtle, stealthy, or insidious means. Webster's New World. Similar definitions. To dig underneath (something), to make a passage or for destructive or military purposes; to sap. [from 14th c.] Wiktionary. Synonyms: unnerve. undo. enfeeble. enervate. devitalize. weaken. sap. debilitate. attenuate. counteract.
to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually: The president has accused two cabinet members of working secretly to undermine his position /him. Criticism just undermines their confidence. Fewer examples.
