Synonyms of undermine

undermine

verb

as in to weaken

to make (someone or something) weaker or less effective usually in a secret or gradual way

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.

Related Words

• weaken
• impair
• erode
• damage
• compromise
• deteriorate
• destroy
• injure
• hurt
• cripple
• harm
• vitiate
• spoil
• enfeeble
• enervate
• disfigure
• mar
• flaw
• bloody
• shatter
• cross (up)
• deface
• tarnish
• wear (away)
• break
• ruin
• scour
• wash out
• blemish
• blight
• crab
• dent
• endamage
• demolish
• devastate
• botch
• disable
• gum (up)
• ding
• wound
• wreck
• decimate
• annihilate
• maim
• mutilate
• torture
• lacerate
• queer
• wipe out
• dint
• crush
• torment
• hamstring
• mangle
• pulverize
• smash
• waste
• tear down
• raze
• clobber
• total
• desolate
• lame
• bash
• do in
• scourge
• batter
• dash
• bang up

Dissimilar Words

• help
• rehabilitate
• rectify
• remedy
• heal
• cure
• improve
• enhance
• revise
• better
• enrich
• perfect
• edit
• ameliorate
• refine
• remodel
• reconstruct
• rebuild
• repair
• fix
• patch
• renovate
• revamp
• mend
• meliorate
• recondition
• doctor

Synonym Chooser

How is the word undermine distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of undermine are cripple, debilitate, disable, enfeeble, sap, and weaken. While all these words mean "to lose or cause to lose strength or vigor," 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

When is cripple a more appropriate choice than undermine?

The meanings of cripple and undermine largely overlap; however, cripple implies causing a serious loss of functioning power through damaging or removing an essential part or element.

crippled by arthritis

When can debilitate be used instead of undermine?

While the synonyms debilitate and undermine are close in meaning, debilitate suggests a less marked or more temporary impairment of strength or vitality.

the debilitating effects of surgery

When could disable be used to replace undermine?

The words disable and undermine can be used in similar contexts, but disable suggests bringing about impairment or limitation in a physical or mental ability.

disabled by an injury sustained at work

When is it sensible to use enfeeble instead of undermine?

Although the words enfeeble and undermine have much in common, enfeeble implies a condition of marked weakness and helplessness.

enfeebled by starvation

When might weaken be a better fit than undermine?

The words weaken and undermine are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, 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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of undermine

There is also the risk that a micrometeoroid could punch a hole in one of the heat-resistant outer tiles on the Orion spacecraft, NASA's crew capsule for the agency's Artemis moon missions, undermining its ability to survive the intense furnace of reentry, per NASA. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 7 June 2026

Pointing to Florida as a model, Benson argued that California’s prolonged vote counting undermines public confidence and contrasts poorly with states that report results quickly and efficiently. —Kiara Moore, The Washington Examiner, 7 June 2026

If the process goes forward without ACIP, though, that could further undermine ACIP’s role as a key scientific check on government policy. —Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 7 June 2026

Reading these conversations feels like attending a party at which each new guest talks over the one before, disputing and undermining, gossiping and bringing into doubt the fundamental purpose of their coming together. —Joe Dunthorne, The New York Review of Books, 6 June 2026