undermined

verb

past tense of undermine
as in weakened
to make (someone or something) weaker or less effective usually in a secret or gradual way 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.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of undermined Several roads near Westward Beach in Malibu are closed after additional erosion undermined the roadway and exposed a Los Angeles County water main. — Chelsea Hylton, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, technological advances made possible by the digital age have undermined the social contract of the industrial era and hollowed out the middle class. — Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2026 In my own experience, for some years a pattern of negative thinking undermined my effectiveness at work. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2026 It might also be undermined by the exhaustion of Moore’s Law. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026 Harvard's financial picture, though, is undermined by moves by the federal government. — Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026 Despite the tension, Humphries rejected the suggestion that the issue would have undermined the chemistry behind her Olympic gold medals. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026 Renewed fighting in Tigray has undermined the 2022 peace agreement that ended a two-year war, as mounting tensions between Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea have raised fears of a wider conflict. — ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026 How every single piece of every part of this is being undermined. — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for undermined
  1. weakened
  2. eroded
  3. damaged
  4. impaired
  5. compromised
  6. deteriorated
Verb
  • Black voter turnout surges Another factor working in Democrats' favor this election cycle is a surge in Black turnout following a Supreme Court decision that weakened part of the Voting Rights Act.
    — Stephen Fowler, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Conditions were expected to improve Saturday afternoon as winds weakened, with fair and dry weather forecast for the remainder of the weekend.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of weakened
Verb
  • The killing drew national outrage and calls for accountability, becoming the latest in a string of incidents that has eroded trust in police in the small town.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Chinese firms have been suffering from declining profit growth amid intense competition that has eroded margins and even invited the government to step in.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of eroded
Verb
  • The attack also damaged a nearby care home, with emergency crews evacuating 15 elderly residents, the service said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Research partners recorded the various sounds that drones make when their propellers get chipped or cracked or their motor becomes damaged or begins to fail.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of damaged
Verb
  • Casa Brera has accommodations for the hearing impaired and wheelchair accessible showers.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
  • But if the mitochondrial circuits are impaired or if there are simply more electrons from food pouring into the system than the mitochondria can handle, the flow can get bogged down.
    — Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of impaired
Verb
  • Avoid relying on text-message verification if your phone number may be compromised.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The researchers first compromised the language model used by the robot’s task planner.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of compromised
Verb
  • Hubbard's release follows the return of American Robert Gilman, who was freed from Russian custody in August after his health deteriorated to a life-threatening condition.
    — Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Jones said the potential consequences for policyholders could be severe if an insurer’s financial position deteriorated enough to stop it from meeting its obligations.
    — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of deteriorated

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undermined
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Cite this Entry

“Undermined.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/undermined. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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