Definition of UNDERMINE

Choose the Right Synonym for undermine

weaken, enfeeble, debilitate, undermine, sap, cripple, disable mean to lose or cause to lose strength or vigor. weaken may imply loss of physical strength, health, soundness, or stability or of quality, intensity, or effective power. a disease that weakens the body's defenses enfeeble implies a condition of marked weakness and helplessness. enfeebled by starvation debilitate suggests a less marked or more temporary impairment of strength or vitality. the debilitating effects of surgery undermine and sap suggest a weakening by something working surreptitiously and insidiously. a poor diet undermines your health drugs had sapped his ability to think cripple implies causing a serious loss of functioning power through damaging or removing an essential part or element. crippled by arthritis disable suggests bringing about impairment or limitation in a physical or mental ability. disabled by an injury sustained at work

Examples of undermine in a Sentence

She tried to undermine my authority by complaining about me to my boss. The events of the past year have undermined people's confidence in the government. When we published the early results of our investigation, the British public learned for the first time of the Ring of Five’s betrayal. Philby’s attempts to undermine Western security, we found, had been constant and relentless, his access to our secrets apparently total. We homed in on two examples. The first was his job in charge of SIS’s anti-Soviet section. If the officer in charge of Britain’s anti-Soviet plans was a Soviet agent himself, how could any anti-Soviet operation succeed? —“Turning the Philby Case on Its Head” P. 51, Phillip Knightley, THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS Vol. LIV No. 7, April 26, 2007 Now they just have been getting beat. Weakened by injuries to center Steven Reinprecht and Mike Comrie and right wing Shane Doan, and undermined by erratic goaltending from Curtis Joseph, the Coyotes are, as one player said, “out of sync.” —“Hockey” P. 59, Michael Farber, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Vol. 105 No. 20, November 20, 2006 “ ‘…. Cluny returned by night, and with his band of rats gnawed away and undermined much of the wooden shoring. This caused the mine to collapse the next day, killing the owners.’” —“Chapter 7” The Wall P. 37, REDWALL, Brian Jacques, FIREBIRD Published by Penguin Group (1986) 2002 As bin Laden’s admirers appear to grow in number, the question is again being asked: Can the Saudi royals withstand the increasing pressures undermining political stability in the most vital energy-producing region of the world? —“The Uneasy Ally” P. 61, Scott MacLeod, TIME Vol. 158 No. 17, October 15, 2001 “It isn’t funny!” Mr. Weasley shouted. “That sort of behavior seriously undermines wizards-Muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons —” —Chapter Five “Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes” p. 53, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, J. K. Rowling, Arthur A. Levine Books 2000 ... the "politically driven 'reformation'" of the American military over the past decade through a policy of integrating women completely. This policy, she says, has undermined readiness. —"Make War, Not Nice!" P. 12, Carol Gilligan, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, May 7, 2000 Having condemned scores of humble men and women, he denounced Count Henry of Sayn. Local Church and State leaders were horrified: inquisitors were supposed to underpin the social order not undermine it. An assembly at Mainz reversed Conrad’s decision but he insisted that it had no power to do so. His enemies wasted no more time on argument. Conrad and his party were attacked and murdered as they left the city. After this, the Inquisition was never accepted throughout most of Germany. —“Chapter Nine” P. 229, REFORMATIONS, Felipe Fernández-Armesto (Brit) & Derek Wilson (Brit), Scribner 270 F39r (1996) 1997

Recent Examples on the Web

In recent years, the city has passed Boston’s first Trust Act to keep police officers from enforcing immigration law and has opposed efforts to undermine national policies, such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. — Milton J. Valencia, BostonGlobe.com, "Head of Roxbury mosque tapped to lead city’s immigrant-outreach office," 21 June 2019 Questioning its authenticity was seen by her allies as an effort to undermine the chancellor’s authority. — Washington Post, "Germany fears far-right violence after pro-refugee politician killed and others threatened," 21 June 2019 These revenue streams are volatile and can undermine the industry’s financial stability. — Ana Baptista, The Conversation, "Is burning trash a good way to handle it? Waste incineration in 5 charts," 20 June 2019 In addition, studies show that harassment thrives in workplaces where there’s a stark power imbalance between men and women, so hiring and promoting more women, and compensating them equitably, can undermine the root causes. — Rebecca Grant, Quartz at Work, "Why do employers keep providing the same ineffective sexual harassment training?," 19 June 2019 Both men are of similar age and temperament, sharing an abiding fear of foreign efforts to undermine their rule. — Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, "Hong Kong’s Retreat Chips Away at Xi Jinping’s Iron Image," 16 June 2019 In an effort to undermine the deal, which was being discussed in the hotel's Vanderbilt suite, a Trump executive hid for ten days in a secret room of the suite to eavesdrop. — Leena Kim, Town & Country, "The Plaza's 10 Juiciest Secrets Revealed," 7 June 2019 In his first public remarks since the release of Mr. Mueller’s report, Mr. Rosenstein criticized the Obama administration as being slow to publicly address Russia’s efforts to undermine U.S. elections and slammed former FBI... — Sadie Gurman, WSJ, "Rosenstein Takes Aim at Critics, Defends Role in Mueller Investigation," 26 Apr. 2019 First, higher prices undermine his case that the economy is doing well. — Todd J. Gillman, Dallas News, "With Texas already teetering in 2020, could Trump's Mexico tariffs cost GOP the White House?," 7 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'undermine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.