undermine

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishundermineun‧der‧mine /ˌʌndəˈmaɪn $ -ər-/ verb [transitive] SPOILto gradually make someone or something less strong or effective economic policies that threaten to undermine the health care systemundermine somebody’s confidence/authority/position/credibility etc The constant criticism was beginning to undermine her confidence.► see thesaurus at spoil→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpusundermine• These should be laid on the gravel to form a sound base which the fish can not undermine.• Alas, his careful pacing and the stars' restrained performances are undermined by a tell-all trailer and an uneven script.• Unfair criticism can undermine employees' self-confidence.• The US was accused of undermining international efforts to combat global warming.• Local authorities and trade unions will need to respond to gratuitous fault finding and undermining of political leadership.• Losing the witness will seriously undermine the government's case against Jones.• 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.• The suspension of an integral part of the Convention undermines their expectations.• Relying on math formulas or drills in class, the study suggests, bores many students and undermines their performance.

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Verb table

undermine

Simple Form
Present
I, you, we, they	undermine
he, she, it	undermines
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Past
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	undermined
Present perfect
I, you, we, they	have undermined
he, she, it	has undermined
Past perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	had undermined
Future
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will undermine
Future perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will have undermined
> View Less

Continuous Form
Present
I	am undermining
he, she, it	is undermining
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you, we, they	are undermining
Past
I, he, she, it	was undermining
you, we, they	were undermining
Present perfect
I, you, we, they	have been undermining
he, she, it	has been undermining
Past perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	had been undermining
Future
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will be undermining
Future perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will have been undermining
> View Less