Meaning
- Undermine means to weaken, damage, or gradually destroy the strength, effectiveness, or authority of someone or something.
- It can be used literally (e.g., soil erosion undermining a building) or figuratively (e.g., criticism undermining confidence).
Grammar and Usage
- Part of speech: Verb
- Verb type: Transitive (takes a direct object)
- Pattern: undermine + noun
Examples of patterns:
- undermine confidence
- undermine authority
- undermine a structure
Common Phrases
- undermine confidence – to make someone less confident
- undermine authority – to weaken someone’s power or position
- undermine efforts – to damage attempts or progress
- undermine trust – to reduce or destroy trust
- undermine stability – to weaken balance or security
Collocations
- Verb + undermine: attempt to undermine, deliberately undermine, secretly undermine
- Noun + undermine: action undermines, policy undermines, attitude undermines
- Adverb + undermine: seriously undermine, gradually undermine, subtly undermine
Examples
- His constant criticism began to undermine her self-esteem.
- The scandal could undermine public trust in the government.
- Heavy rains threatened to undermine the foundation of the house.
- Gossip at the office can undermine teamwork and cooperation.
- The new policy may undermine years of environmental progress.
- She tried to undermine his authority by questioning every decision.
- Corruption can undermine the stability of a nation.
- Overwork and stress can slowly undermine a person’s health.
Synonyms or Related
- weaken
- sabotage
- erode
- damage
- impair
- compromise
Antonym
- strengthen
- support
- bolster
- reinforce