Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to undermine
Participle: undermined
Gerund: undermining
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | undermine |
| you | undermine |
| he;she;it | undermines |
| we | undermine |
| you | undermine |
| they | undermine |
Perfect
| I | have undermined |
| you | have undermined |
| he;she;it | has undermined |
| we | have undermined |
| you | have undermined |
| they | have undermined |
Past
| I | undermined |
| you | undermined |
| he;she;it | undermined |
| we | undermined |
| you | undermined |
| they | undermined |
Pluperfect
| I | had undermined |
| you | had undermined |
| he;she;it | had undermined |
| we | had undermined |
| you | had undermined |
| they | had undermined |
Future
| I | will undermine |
| you | will undermine |
| he;she;it | will undermine |
| we | will undermine |
| you | will undermine |
| they | will undermine |
Future Perfect
| I | will have undermined |
| you | will have undermined |
| he;she;it | will have undermined |
| we | will have undermined |
| you | will have undermined |
| they | will have undermined |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | undermine |
| you | undermine |
| he;she;it | undermine |
| we | undermine |
| you | undermine |
| they | undermine |
Perfect
| I | have undermined |
| you | have undermined |
| he;she;it | have undermined |
| we | have undermined |
| you | have undermined |
| they | have undermined |
Imperfect
| I | undermined |
| you | undermined |
| he;she;it | undermined |
| we | undermined |
| you | undermined |
| they | undermined |
Pluperfect
| I | had undermined |
| you | had undermined |
| he;she;it | had undermined |
| we | had undermined |
| you | had undermined |
| they | had undermined |
Conditional
Present
| I | would undermine |
| you | would undermine |
| he;she;it | would undermine |
| we | would undermine |
| you | would undermine |
| they | would undermine |
Perfect
| I | would have undermined |
| you | would have undermined |
| he;she;it | would have undermined |
| we | would have undermined |
| you | would have undermined |
| they | would have undermined |
Imperative
| you | undermine |
| we | Let's undermine |
| you | undermine |
Verbs conjugated like 'undermine'
abacinate,
abalienate,
abase,
abate,
abbreviate,
abdicate,
abduce,
aberrate,
aberuncate,
abirritate,
abjudge,
abjudicate,
abjugate,
abjure,
ablactate,
ablaqueate,
able,
ablegate,
abligate,
abnegate, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'undermine'
underline,
intermine,
undefine,
underbind,
underfire,
underlie,
underlive,
underman,
undermilk,
undermix,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- to make difficult to accomplish; to frustrate, act as obstacle
- behedge, forestay, forslow, frustrate, get in the way, hamper, handicap, hinder, hold up, impede, incommode, obstruct, overslaugh, prevene, prevent, restrict, retard, slow down, stay, thwart, thwarten, umbeset
- weaken
- threaten, injure, hurt, harm, impair, damage, incapacitate, disable
Antonyms
- weaken
- strengthen, fortify, empower, energize
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. Etymology tree
2. Proto-Indo-European *h₁én
3. Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér
4. Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰí
5. Proto-Indo-European *-ér
6. Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér
7. Proto-Germanic *under
8. Proto-West Germanic *undar
9. Old English under-
10. Middle English under-
11. English under-
12. English mine
13. English undermine
14. From under- + mine.
Sample Sentences
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Martin, for instance, had on one occasion undermined a tree sacred to old gods, then stood in the path of its fall, but forced it to fall elsewhere by making the sign of the Cross. [2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 312:]
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The war efforts were undermined by the constant bickering between the allies.
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The penile mishaps (one involving a bristled toothbrush), severings (one involves hungry ducks) and surgeries cited by Ms. Roach are nothing if not memorable, but her book consistently undermines its own discoveries. [2008 April 7, Janet Maslin, “A Sex Researcher Walks Into a Lab, and Then Things Start to Get Comical”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022:]
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The growing use of social media to spread anger and dissent in the Arab world has been hailed by western governments as one of the chief justifications for a completely unfettered internet. The US is reportedly funding the secret rollout of technology in Iran in an effort to undermine internet censors in the country. [2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 08 May 2025:]
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When Morrison mulls the pluses and minuses associated with rebuking Kelly for undermining the government’s public health messaging, the prime minister faces a genuine substantive dilemma, and that goes to the risks of amplification. [2021 February 2, Katharine Murphy, “Scott Morrison must heed the lesson of Donald Trump and slap down Craig Kelly”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 27 Apr 2021:]
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The 'partygate' controversy has played a major part in undermining the credibility of Boris Johnson and his Government and has led to calls from senior MPs for him to resign. [2022 January 26, “Network News: DfT awaits verdict on COVID 'partygate' scandal”, in RAIL, number 949, page 6:]
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Services between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Falkirk High are currently suspended, following a 30-metre breach of the Union Canal that occurred on August 12 after torrential rain and thunderstorms. The thousands of gallons of water that cascaded onto the railway line below washed away track, ballast and overhead line equipment, and undermined embankments along a 300-metre section of Scotland's busiest rail link. [2020 August 26, “Network News: Major flood damage severs key Edinburgh-Glasgow rail artery”, in Rail, page 21:]
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Dungeness: The branch to the nuclear power station at Dungeness has been temporarily out of use because badgers have undermined the trackbed. [2026 July 22, Howard Johnston, “Regional News: Southern”, in RAIL, number 1066, page 21:]
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We can even go further: when we consider an object in everyday life we do not usually just undermine or overmine it as if it demanded an either/or approach, but rather we run the two processes in tandem: duomining, as Harman labels it. [2022, Nicholas Gayle, Conrad and the Being of the World, page 25:]