Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To weaken by wearing away a base or foundation.
- transitive verb To weaken, injure, or impair, often by degrees or imperceptibly; sap.
- transitive verb To dig a mine or tunnel beneath.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To form a mine under; sap; render unstable by digging or wearing away the foundation of; make an excavation beneath, especially for the purpose of causing to fall, or of blowing up: as, to
undermine a wall; a river undermines its banks. - Figuratively, to subvert by removing clandestinely the foundation of; injure by invisible, secret, or dishonorable means.
- To injure, weaken, or destroy insidiously or indirectly; wear away; wear out; sap.
- noun Same as
mine , 2 . - noun A cave.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To excavate the earth beneath, or the part of, especially for the purpose of causing to fall or be overthrown; to form a mine under; to sap.
- transitive verb Fig.: To remove the foundation or support of by clandestine means; to ruin in an underhand way.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb destroy property or hinder normal operations
- verb hollow out as if making a cave or opening
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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To expand on that, Washington seems to think that helping Israel keep up non-nuclear appearances might make Israel less inclined to once again undermine the Israel-Palestine peace process.
Russ Wellen: How Does Staying Mum on Israel's Nukes Help the Peace Process? Russ Wellen 2010
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To expand on that, Washington seems to think that helping Israel keep up non-nuclear appearances might make Israel less inclined to once again undermine the Israel-Palestine peace process.
Russ Wellen: How Does Staying Mum on Israel's Nukes Help the Peace Process? Russ Wellen 2010
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To expand on that, Washington seems to think that helping Israel keep up non-nuclear appearances might make Israel less inclined to once again undermine the Israel-Palestine peace process.
Russ Wellen: How Does Staying Mum on Israel's Nukes Help the Peace Process? Russ Wellen 2010
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To expand on that, Washington seems to think that helping Israel keep up non-nuclear appearances might make Israel less inclined to once again undermine the Israel-Palestine peace process.
Russ Wellen: How Does Staying Mum on Israel's Nukes Help the Peace Process? Russ Wellen 2010
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They have no respect for the Constitution because this power which they are trying to undermine, is specifically delegated to the President.
Think Progress » Rep. Gohmert introduces resolution endorsing an Israeli military strike on Iran. 2010
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Has an ordinary man the courage to demand such sacrifices, and would not such efforts most certainly demoralise the Army, break up the bands of discipline, and, in short, undermine its military virtue, if firm reliance on the greatness and infallibility of the Commander did not compensate for all?
On War — Volume 1 Carl von Clausewitz 1805
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These type of extreme labels undermine any thought provoking discussions and reflect the authors lack of meaningful dialouge.
Mesabi Daily News 2009
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Furthermore, some influential indigenous chiefs have joined the campaign against the charter arguing that the proposed reform of indigenous affairs and a common name undermine indigenous traditional authority and culture.
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I’d bet he’d be able to help plot strategy for managing the UN, give the current lay of the SC & the GA, and advise on who to marginalize/coopt/undermine from the start.
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These labels undermine consumer confidence in dairy products.
mohitanand commented on the word undermine
to weaken (usually paired with an abstract term)
The student undermined the teacher’s authority by questioning the teacher’s judgment on numerous occasions.
October 11, 2016