verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
undermine sb’s confidence (= gradually reduce it )
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His constant criticism was undermining my confidence.
undermine/damage credibility
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A number of factors undermine the credibility of these statistics.
undermine/damage/weaken sb’s confidence (= make someone have less confidence )
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The situation in the US was undermining foreign confidence in the dollar.
undermine/weaken sb’s authority (= make someone’s authority weaker )
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I wasn’t trying to undermine your authority.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
also
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Such a perspective also undermines any analysis which sees the audience or classes as uncritically receiving the content of the mass media.
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In undermining the notion of essential truth, however, Nietzsche also undermines the notion of an essential self.
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Crackdown law also undermines the basic fairness and credibility of justice.
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But it also undermined his already fragile self-control.
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Not only did it dislocate time and space, but it also undermined the linear structure of conventional narrative.
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The work of regulatory agencies was also undermined by budget cuts and a concerted unwillingness to enforce existing regulations.
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Exclusion of relevant evidence because of non-conformity to some legal rule can also undermine the factual quality of acquittals.
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The inclusion of added emphasis paragraphs would also undermine the clarity of audit reporting.
further
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McLaughlin wants a chain that caters for buyers rather than browsers, but critics say that further undermines the Waterstone's ethos.
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Now we find our concern for goods further undermined .
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I suspect that there is a deal, spoken or unspoken, which further undermines the Prime Minister's negotiating position.
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This was compared with the situation where capitalist methods of production were used to further undermine pre-capitalist methods of production.
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Similarly, the increasing use of urban development corporations ind Whitehall grants in inner cities would further undermine local authorities.
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Receiving such help can undermine further an already-fragile self-esteem.
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This would further undermine his position both with his colleagues and with the public.
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The practices of the press were to further undermine its credibility.
seriously
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The claims of the falsificationist are seriously undermined by the fact that observation statements are theory-dependent and fallible.
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Current levels of traffic seriously undermine the quality of life in our cities.
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This seriously undermines the capacity of national governments to set ethical boundaries for business.
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However, these studies and many others that followed were seriously undermined by some fault or other.
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They argue that this will seriously undermine the adoption of the Biosafety Protocol developed under the Convention on Biodiversity.
■ NOUN
ability
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Insomnia can severely undermine a person's ability to cope with other problems, including the stress of grieving.
attempt
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After this encounter Einstein gave up his specific attempts to undermine the uncertainty principle.
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The main issue: a labor provision that Democrats view as a Republican attempt to undermine labor unions.
authority
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The Red Cross claims that every misuse of the symbol undermines its authority and endangers its members operating in difficult conditions.
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Dictators and schoolteachers have tried to control it, fearing its contagious power to undermine authority .
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The Lords did not in their speeches think that they were undermining the authority of Lawrence.
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The president faces issues that can catch him off guard and undermine his authority .
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Knowledge of their relationship would undermine their authority , or so they thought.
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But his behavior clearly undermined his authority .
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This must have infuriated my father and undermined his authority .
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Similarly, the increasing use of urban development corporations ind Whitehall grants in inner cities would further undermine local authorities .
claim
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Those claimants undermine the claims of genuine asylum seekers, and no one would wish to defend them.
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It greatly undermines his claim to having more public integrity and consistency than the inexhaustibly elastic Clinton.
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This relative concept of liberty undermines the claim of interests theory to don the mantle of a liberal theory of contract.
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Besides undermining his claim to journalistic detachment, the letter contained faulty political advice.
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It is not the present intention to point to inconsistencies, in order to undermine the revolutionary claims .
confidence
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Don't undermine the patient's confidence by accusing him of not trying when he can not fulfil a task.
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When we do this, we undermine the confidence and competence of our citizens and communities.
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She did not mean to be swayed by Cobalt's defence of Maurin, and yet he had undermined her confidence .
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Proof that fake Dalís are circulating and fears of further problems could continue to undermine confidence in this market.
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This may need to be supported by actual action likely to undermine public confidence in the exchange.
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Some were less overtly overbearing, but no less effective in undermining their colleagues' confidence .
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It would also be an offence to cause suspicion or undermine the confidence of the people.
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Overinvestigation or repeated testing without substantial indication undermines the patient's confidence in the doctor's conclusions.
credibility
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This rather undermines his credibility as a detached observer.
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This kind of cop-out is also likely to undermine the parents' credibility and the trust put in them.
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Charity knew that to protest any more would only undermine her credibility .
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The practices of the press were to further undermine its credibility .
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I accept that political activity in this country could undermine credibility , but it might just confirm credibility.
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The Bible's miracles, so far from supporting its claim to supernatural authority, served rather to undermine its credibility .
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Craig seems to have been determined to undermine the association's credibility and to brand its members as troublemakers.
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Hume believed that four factors undermine the credibility of reports of miracles.
democracy
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You say that this conflict is partly the result of governments in New Delhi undermining democracy in the state.
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He argues that protest produces instability and even violence, but in the long run it does not undermine democracy .
economy
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This could undermine the enterprise economy and lead to a reduction in consumer choice.
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National economies , however undermined by the transnational economy, coexist and intertwine with it.
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It has been in effect now and it has not undermined our economy .
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If desertification continues to spread, the dust bowl will not only undermine the economy but also trigger a huge migration eastward.
effectiveness
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One is to sort out anomalies that, as Mr Large concedes, undermine the effectiveness of his two-tier system.
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Racial antagonisms undermined the parties' effectiveness .
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The committee says the absence of disciplinary action had undermined the future effectiveness of the bank.
effort
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My guess was that they would find their way into the press and would undermine our efforts to settle the health dispute.
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But several features of television undermine whatever efforts journalists may make to give sense to the world.
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Failure to optimise the level of support to the caring team will undermine efforts to distribute annual leave evenly among nurses.
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But the growth of the population continually undermines their efforts .
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The consequent noise, fumes and danger will undermine efforts to breathe new life into towns and cities.
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A bad leader, on the other hand, undermines your efforts in subtle ways.
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Western officials had also worried that it would undermine their efforts to build a joint state.
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Moreover, farm subsidies undermine the efforts of developing countries to follow Washington's economic prescriptions.
foundation
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Weeping willow roots undermine the foundations of concrete pools and their leaves pollute the water with a toxic chemical akin to aspirin.
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They are simply two more of the many forces undermining the foundations of the job.
government
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Others, convinced that President Ernesto Zedillo is committed to battling drugs, say decertification could undermine his government .
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This insurrection was eventually undermined by the government .
health
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The thought inevitably occurs as to whether his studies and the sharing of his uncle's austerities had undermined his health .
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However, the strain of her ordeal proved to have permanently undermined her health .
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Cochrane's criticism of the impact of health care has had a lasting influence and is often used to undermine health services.
idea
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But it certainly undermines the idea that gay men, as men, are biologically incapable of restraint.
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This will undermine the idea that the dollar needs to stay cheap.
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And yet, the archaeological evidence undermines this idea .
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They think about who will feel undermined by the idea and whom they will need to win over.
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Derrida as joker undermines all practices and ideas , including his own.
legitimacy
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Inflation has undermined the legitimacy of the market order.
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Will the West undermine the legitimacy of the regimes it has just saved from the storm?
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The closed shop and the wildcat strike have undermined the legitimacy of modern trade unionism.
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But Cooper argues that if major Internet providers go along with the plan, it will undermine the legitimacy of the extremists.
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Publicizing this may undermine their legitimacy , an outcome they would want to avoid.
market
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There will no longer be a level playing field and the single market will be undermined .
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But concern mounted that the fall in the stock market may start to undermine banks' capital adequacy ratios.
morale
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Recent national reforms had undermined teachers' morale , he said.
peace
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Hastings was against undermining the peace process in that manner.
position
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Several weaknesses undermine the Government's position .
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Men think it would undermine their position at work to deviate from the usual schedule.
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Closer inspection tends to undermine this position , which is obviously a comfortable one for the well paid.
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This would further undermine his position both with his colleagues and with the public.
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The only factor undermining this powerful position is said to be the incompetence of the majority of government employees.
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The granting of universal suffrage in 1931 did not immediately undermine their position .
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Gorbachev undermined the position of the Politburo when he transferred executive power to the presidency, advised by the presidential councils.
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Unbeknown to you the real motive is to question you in order to undermine your position .
power
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In this way their credibility would be undermined and their power weakened.
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Are we not talking about undermining the power of the public sector?
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Although the negotiation of rules is a constant process, this does not completely undermine the power of socialisation.
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At the same time, beware of undermining their power bases by claiming undue credit for yourself.
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The awakening of national consciousness amongst the subject peoples was a major factor in undermining the power of the sultans.
principle
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After this encounter Einstein gave up his specific attempts to undermine the uncertainty principle .
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It is exactly that willful abuse of discipline that will undermine an otherwise sound principle .
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In so far as leaks advertise unhappiness about a line of policy they undermine the principle of collective responsibility, as well as the confidentiality of proceedings.
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But such concessions would undermine the very principles on which the case for tax reform is based.
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The proposed legislation undermines the principles of the 1951 Geneva convention.
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It does not wholly undermine the principle though it does leave it somewhat tarnished.
process
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Lax local authority policies and the undermining of policies of restraint on appeal, severely undermine processes of urban regeneration.
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Last summer, Karadzic undermined the registration process for national elections.
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Too often, unnecessary organisational problems undermine the process .
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Hastings was against undermining the peace process in that manner.
role
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The challenge is to develop a mechanism for doing this which does not undermine the role of nation states.
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This may only serve to aggravate matters further and undermine your role as a neutral.
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The Army's preference to appear neutral was severely undermined by its role during the Loyalist marching season of 1970.
stability
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A test ban that could not inspire confidence would undermine stability and might even provoke a new arms race.
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Paradoxically, it has not even been able to undermine the relative economic stability of the imperialist countries.
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This leads to adhoc government intervention which in turn may undermine the consistency and stability of objectives still further.
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Sudden and infrequent changes of many inputs clearly undermine stability .
system
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Contradictions which might seem likely to undermine the system have often the reverse effect.
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Stock manipulations and frauds undermine the capitalist system , which requires public investment for capital.
value
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Problems of this sort will quickly undermine the value of a recruitment system, which is designed above all for speed.
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That disappointment can undermine the share value of some biotechnology companies, who lack earnings or revenue from other products.
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Such duplication could cause juristic confusion and undermine the very values intended to be protected.
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These usually project unpleasant images of older people which subtly undermine their personal value and worth.
work
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He claims the organisation sent trainees to the lydney based dial a ride scheme - undermining his own work with the organisation.
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Men think it would undermine their position at work to deviate from the usual schedule.
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Any prisoner suspected of undermining this work was found guilty of sabotage and put to death without trial.
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At one spot the Federals succeeded in undermining the Confederate works in preparation to laying an explosive charge.
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He undermined all the work that had been done by Mr M with the W family.
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But Democrats say the speedup would undermine the work of a commission that is developing standards for a new statewide test.
■ VERB
begin
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By suggesting this they began quite unwittingly to undermine her confidence in the school and in herself.
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Carroll first ingeniously sets in place, and then begins to undermine , his creation.
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Second, the developing study of the biblical documents themselves began to undermine the rather monolithic orthodox understanding of it.
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Moreover, when these societies become industrialised and urbanised another set of values begins to undermine these time-honoured traditions.
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If time began to undermine her confidence in such an outcome, it would be different.
seek
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We should support them and not seek to undermine them.
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Through good works they sought to undermine the state's political legitimacy.
tend
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Closer inspection tends to undermine this position, which is obviously a comfortable one for the well paid.
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Two forces inherent in the current dialectical relations between mass pressure and bureaucratic reforms tend to undermine it.
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Luxuries were regarded as tending to undermine morals, so ideal societies were often austere and egalitarian.
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Many of the structures and practices that foster the one tend to undermine the other.
threaten
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Society has an interest in protecting itself from activities which threaten to undermine the harmony within it.
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Out of control it threatens to undermine a game dependent on the good offices of onlookers.
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Our two separate lives threatened our plans and undermined our relationship.
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His falsity and hollowness are not just the opposite of the true and the wholesome, but threaten to undermine it.
try
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We have already seen how the creators of wants, the psychology-manipulators in advertising, had set about trying to undermine it.
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Lowe wrote claiming that Sutton was trying to undermine him and forge an alliance with the Founders.
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He was trying to undermine her self-confidence, make her believe she couldn't stand up to the exigencies of canal life.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Losing the witness will seriously undermine the government's case against Jones.
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The kidnappings undermined several months of delicate peace negotiations.
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The US was accused of undermining international efforts to combat global warming.
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Unfair criticism can undermine employees' self-confidence.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Alas, his careful pacing and the stars' restrained performances are undermined by a tell-all trailer and an uneven script.
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Inflation has undermined the legitimacy of the market order.
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Local authorities and trade unions will need to respond to gratuitous fault finding and undermining of political leadership.
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Paradoxically, it has not even been able to undermine the relative economic stability of the imperialist countries.
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Relying on math formulas or drills in class, the study suggests, bores many students and undermines their performance.
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The suspension of an integral part of the Convention undermines their expectations.
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These should be laid on the gravel to form a sound base which the fish can not undermine .