Undermine — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

destroy property or hinder normal operations

hollow out as if making a cave or opening

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ˌʌndɚmˈaɪn/

🇬🇧British English

/ˌʌndəmˈaɪn/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ˌʌndəmˈaɪn/

3 syllables Say it as /ˌʌndɚmˈaɪn/.

Examples

The Resistance sabotaged railroad operations during the war
The river was caving the banks

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

cave sabotage counteract subvert countermine weaken

Parts of Speech

verb	destroy property or hinder normal operations “The Resistance sabotaged railroad operations during the war”
verb	hollow out as if making a cave or opening “The river was caving the banks”

Word Forms

sabotage

noun

a deliberate act of destruction or disruption in which equipment is damaged

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

untergraben

Eigentum zerstören oder den normalen Betrieb behindern

🇫🇷French

saper

détruire des biens ou entraver les opérations normales

🇪🇸Spanish

socavar

destruir propiedad u obstaculizar las operaciones normales

🇮🇹Italian

minare

distruggere proprietà o ostacolare le normali operazioni

🇳🇱Dutch

ondermijnen

eigendommen vernielen of de normale bedrijfsvoering belemmeren

🇵🇹Portuguese

minar

destruir propriedades ou impedir operações normais

🇷🇺Russian

подрывать

уничтожить имущество или помешать нормальной деятельности

India

🇮🇳Hindi

कमजोर

संपत्ति को नष्ट करें या सामान्य कार्यों में बाधा डालें

🇧🇩Bengali

অবমূল্যায়ন

সম্পত্তি ধ্বংস বা স্বাভাবিক ক্রিয়াকলাপ বাধাগ্রস্ত করা

🇮🇳Tamil

குறைமதிப்பிற்கு உட்படுத்துகின்றன

சொத்துக்களை அழித்தல் அல்லது இயல்பான செயல்பாடுகளுக்கு இடையூறு விளைவித்தல்

🇮🇳Telugu

అణగదొక్కండి

ఆస్తిని నాశనం చేయండి లేదా సాధారణ కార్యకలాపాలకు ఆటంకం కలిగించండి

🇮🇳Marathi

कमी करणे

मालमत्तेचा नाश करणे किंवा सामान्य कामकाजात अडथळा आणणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

અવમૂલ્યન

મિલકતનો નાશ કરવો અથવા સામાન્ય કામગીરીમાં અવરોધ

🇮🇳Kannada

ದುರ್ಬಲಗೊಳಿಸು

ಆಸ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ನಾಶಪಡಿಸಿ ಅಥವಾ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಾಚರಣೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಅಡ್ಡಿಪಡಿಸಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ദുർബലപ്പെടുത്തുക

സ്വത്ത് നശിപ്പിക്കുക അല്ലെങ്കിൽ സാധാരണ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങൾ തടസ്സപ്പെടുത്തുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਕਮਜ਼ੋਰ ਕਰਨਾ

ਸੰਪੱਤੀ ਨੂੰ ਨਸ਼ਟ ਕਰਨਾ ਜਾਂ ਆਮ ਕਾਰਜਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਰੁਕਾਵਟ ਪਾਉਂਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

کمزور

املاک کو تباہ کرنا یا عام کاموں میں رکاوٹ ڈالنا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

破坏

破坏财产或妨碍正常运作

🇯🇵Japanese

弱体化する

財産を破壊したり、通常の業務を妨害したりする

🇰🇷Korean

훼손하다

재산을 파괴하거나 정상적인 운영을 방해합니다.

🇻🇳Vietnamese

làm suy yếu

phá hủy tài sản hoặc cản trở hoạt động bình thường

🇹🇭Thai

บ่อนทำลาย

ทำลายทรัพย์สินหรือขัดขวางการดำเนินงานตามปกติ

🇮🇩Indonesian

merusak

menghancurkan properti atau menghambat operasi normal

🇵🇭Filipino

papanghinain

sirain ang ari-arian o hadlangan ang mga normal na operasyon

🇲🇾Malay

melemahkan

memusnahkan harta benda atau menghalang operasi biasa

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تقويض

تدمير الممتلكات أو إعاقة العمليات العادية

🇮🇷Persian

تضعیف کردن

اموال را از بین ببرد یا مانع از عملیات عادی شود

🇹🇷Turkish

baltalamak

mülkü yok etmek veya normal işlemleri engellemek

🇮🇱Hebrew

לַחתוֹר

להרוס רכוש או להפריע לפעילות רגילה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'undermine'?

The primary meaning of 'undermine' is 'destroy property or hinder normal operations'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'undermine' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'undermine' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'undermine' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'undermine' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'undermine' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'undermine' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'undermine' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'undermine' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'undermine' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'undermine' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted