The meaning of UNDERMINE is to subvert or weaken insidiously or secretly. How to use undermine in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Undermine.

UNDERMINED definition: attacked, weakened, or defeated by underhand or seemingly harmless actions or by imperceptible stages. See examples of undermined used in a sentence.

UNDERMINED meaning: 1. past simple and past participle of undermine 2. to make someone less confident, less powerful…. Learn more.

Definition of undermine verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

1. To weaken by wearing away a base or foundation: Water has undermined the stone foundations. 2. To weaken, injure, or impair, often by degrees or imperceptibly; sap: Late hours can undermine one's …

If you undermine someone or undermine their position or authority, you make their authority or position less secure, often by indirect methods. She undermined him and destroyed his confidence in his own …

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.

• Inflation has undermined the legitimacy of the market order. • Paradoxically, it has not even been able to undermine the relative economic stability of the imperialist countries.

UNDERMINE definition: to injure or destroy by insidious activity or imperceptible stages, sometimes tending toward a sudden dramatic effect. See examples of undermine used in a sentence.

To undermine literally means to dig a hole underneath something, making it likely to collapse. But we more often use the word to describe sabotage or the act of weakening someone else's efforts.