(~s, undermining, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ something such as a feeling or a system, you make it less strong or less secure than it was before, often by a gradual process or by repeated efforts.
Offering advice on each and every problem will ~ her feeling of being adult...
Western intelligence agencies are accused of trying to ~ the government.
VERB: V n, V n
2.
If you ~ someone or ~ their position or authority, you make their authority or position less secure, often by indirect methods.
She ~d him and destroyed his confidence in his own talent...
The conversations were designed to ~ her authority so she felt that she could no longer work for the company.
VERB: V n, V n
3.
If you ~ someone’s efforts or ~ their chances of achieving something, you behave in a way that makes them less likely to succeed.
The continued fighting threatens to ~ efforts to negotiate an agreement...
VERB: V n