undermine
English · Thesaurus
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undermine
- /ˌʌn.dəˈmaɪn/ UK
- /ˌʌn.dɚˈmaɪn/ US
Rhymes with -aɪn
verb undermines · undermining · undermined
- To dig underneath (something), to make a passage for destructive or military purposes; to sap. Martin, for instance, had on one occasion undermined a tree sacred to old gods, then stood in the path of its fall, but forced it to fall elsewhere by making the sign of the Cross.
- To weaken or work against; to hinder, sabotage. The war efforts were undermined by the constant bickering between the allies.
- To erode the base or foundation of something, e.g. by the action of water. Services between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Falkirk High are currently suspended, following a 30-metre breach of the Union Canal that occurred on August 12 after torrential rain and thunderstorms. The thousands of gallons of water that cascaded onto the railway line below washed
- To regard an object as the sum of the parts that compose it, in object-oriented ontology. We can even go further: when we consider an object in everyday life we do not usually just undermine or overmine it as if it demanded an either/or approach, but rather we run the two processes in tandem: duomining, as Harman labels it.
Opposite: undergird
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: sabotage, subvert, counteract, weaken, countermine, cave, overthrow, subtract, thwart, obstruct, interfere, circumvent, evade, reduce, encroach, impede
verb
Opposite: undergird
Translations
Every language
verb to dig, tunnel, hollow out as if making a cave or opening
| Español | socavar |
|---|---|
| Português | solapar, minar |
| Français | saper |
| Deutsch | untergraben |
| Ελληνικά | υποσκάπτω yposkápto |
| Русский | подка́пывать podkápyvatʹ, подкопа́ть podkopátʹ, подрыва́ть podryvátʹ, подры́ть podrýtʹ |
verb hinder, sabotage
| Español | socavar, desvirtuar, armar tranquilla |
|---|---|
| Português | solapar, sabotar, prejudicar |
| Français | saper |
| Deutsch | unterlaufen, untergraben, unterminieren, schwächen, beschädigen |
| Italiano | minare, minacciare, pregiudicare, compromettere, ostacolare |
| Ελληνικά | υπονομεύω yponomévo |
| Română | surpa, submina, săpa |
| Русский | подрыва́ть podryvátʹ, подорва́ть podorvátʹ |
| العربية | أضعف ʔaḍʕafa, قّوض qawwaḍa, ضعّف ḍaʔʔafa |
| עברית | חתר תחת ḥatar taḥat |
Talk about this word "undermine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/undermine. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. undermine. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/undermine "undermine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/undermine.Cite this
@misc{undermine_2026,
title = {undermine},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/undermine},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
