Definitions for undermine
ˌʌn dərˈmaɪn or, esp. for 1,2,4 , ˈʌn dərˌmaɪnun·der·mine

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. sabotage, undermine, countermine, counteract, subvert, weakenverb

   destroy property or hinder normal operations

   "The Resistance sabotaged railroad operations during the war"

2. cave, undermineverb

   hollow out as if making a cave or opening

   "The river was caving the banks"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. undermineverb

   To dig underneath (something), to make a passage or for destructive or military purposes; to sap.

2. undermineverb

   To weaken or work against; to hinder, sabotage.

   The war efforts were undermined by the constant bickering between the allies.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. To Undermineverb

   Etymology: under and mine.

   1. To dig cavities under any thing, so that it may fall, or be blown up; to sap.

   Though the foundation on a rock were laid,
   The church was undermin’d and then betray’d. John Denham.

   An injudicious endeavour to exalt Virgil , is much the same, as if one should think to raise the superstructure by undermining the foundation. Alexander Pope, Iliad. Preface to the.

   2. To excavate under.

   A vast rock undermin’d from one end to the other, and a highway running through it, as long and as broad as the mall. Joseph Addison, Remarks on Italy.

   3. To injure by clandestine means.

   Making the king’s sword strike whom they hated, the king’s purse reward whom they loved; and, which is worst of all, making the royal countenance serve to undermine the royal sovereignty. Philip Sidney.

   They, knowing Eleanor’s aspiring humour,
   Have hir’d me to undermine the dutchess. William Shakespeare.

   The father secure,
   Ventures his filial virtue,
   Against whate’er may tempt, whate’er seduce,
   Allure or terrify, or undermine. John Milton.

   The undermining smile becomes habitual; and the drift of his plausible conversation, is only to flatter one, that he may betray another. Dryden.

   He should be warn’d who are like to undermine him, and who to serve him. John Locke, on Education.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. undermine

   Undermine is a verb which usually means to weaken or damage someone or something gradually or insidiously, often in secret or without it being noticed. This could refer to a person's confidence, authority, or power, as well as to structures or institutions. It can also mean to dig or excavate beneath a structure to make it collapse.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Undermineverb

   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; as, to undermine a wall

2. Undermineverb

   fig.: To remove the foundation or support of by clandestine means; to ruin in an underhand way; as, to undermine reputation; to undermine the constitution of the state

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Undermine

   un-dėr-mīn′, v.t. to form mines under, in order to destroy: to destroy secretly the foundation or support of anything.—n. Undermī′ner, one who undermines, a secret enemy.

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. undermine

   To dig an excavation under any fort, house, or other building, so as to cause it to fall down or to blow it up with powder.

Matched Categories

1. • Disobey
   • Hollow Out

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'undermine' in Verbs Frequency: #716

Anagrams for undermine »

1. unermined

How to pronounce undermine?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say undermine in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of undermine in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of undermine in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of undermine in a Sentence

1. Jeff Fortenberry:

   This is threat against civilization itself when a group of people, ISIS -- 8th century barbarians with 21st century weaponry -- can systematically try to exterminate another group of people simply because of their faith tradition violating the scared space of individuality, conscience and religious liberty, you undermine the entire system of international order.

2. Chris Krebs:

   Our federal partners will remain up and running in an enhanced posture, because we understand that it's a ripe opportunity for foreign adversaries to inject mis - or dis - or mal-information into the news cycles and try to undermine confidence.

3. John Logan:

   A second loss for Amazon would be far more damaging to the company's anti-union campaign than a loss for Amazon Labor Union would be to future organizing efforts at Amazon, it sends the message that the workers won't be alone in fighting to get a union and a contract at Amazon and makes clear that Amazon won't be able to undermine the union with impunity.

4. Paul Barrett:

   The kind of free speech that we are most interested in promoting — and that the first amendment is directed at — is speech related to political matters, public affairs and personal expression, none of those kinds of speech would be affected by an effort to screen out disguised, phony advertising that purports to come from organizations that don’t really exist and actually attempt to undermine discussions on elections. There will be some limitations on fraudulent speech and violent speech, but those are not the types of speech protected by the first amendment. We can afford to lose those types of speech to create an environment where free speech is promoted.

5. Former President Jimmy Carter:

   The Chinese must understand that America would like to see a peaceful, prosperous, and free China and that we do not wish to undermine the rise of China, similarly, Americans need to understand that China differs from the Soviet Union that we faced in the Cold War.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=undermine
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Undermine
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=undermine
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undermine
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=undermine
7. ^ Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59563/pg59563-images.html