How to Use undermine in a Sentence

undermine

verb
  • The events of the past year have undermined people's confidence in the government.
  • She tried to undermine my authority by complaining about me to my boss.
  • Sadly, the mishap undermined a year's worth of hard work.
    Laura Lane, Peoplemag, 2 Apr. 2024
  • Be good to yourself, and protect against anyone who tries to undermine you.
    Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024
  • Does all the meta commentary undermine or underline the points that Nabers and Glover are trying to make?
    Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Doesn’t the most sensational aspect of the format undermine the rest of it?
    James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Oct. 2023
  • The problem is life in this perpetual tug of war only undermines what the club is trying to achieve.
    Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 13 Aug. 2023
  • Does that undermine your confidence in the United States?
    CBS News, 16 Apr. 2023
  • The ex-president has been seeking to undermine the electoral process since at least 2020.
    Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2023
  • Major events like the Ukraine war show just how quickly the food system can be undermined by disruptions.
    John Kell, Fortune, 12 Jan. 2024
  • As Israeli troops aim to take control of the Gaza-Egypt border crossing, officials in Cairo warn that the move would undermine the 1979 peace treaty.
    Yasmeen Abutaleb, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024
  • Many took issue with the reduction in time limits, saying that the city was undermining their free speech.
    Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Dec. 2023
  • The world must also counter or work around the rise of political forces that undermine stronger climate efforts.
    Jason Bordoff, Foreign Affairs, 18 Jan. 2024
  • By talking out of both sides of its mouth, the department undermines the logic of transgenderism.
    The Editors, National Review, 12 Apr. 2023
  • She’s been undermining him all along, hiding the truth that his wife is still alive, roaming London as a crazed beggar woman.
    Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
  • Trump himself may have even undermined his own defense.
    Tori Otten, The New Republic, 9 Oct. 2023
  • People face real danger at the hands of the police, and false stories can undermine real stories.
    Angela Yang, NBC News, 26 Oct. 2023
  • If the 5th Circuit’s decision is allowed to stand, the FDA’s role as bulwark against snake oil will be grievously undermined.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024
  • In the annals of power, leaders and their advisers strive to maintain — or at least, not undermine — the perception of being in strong and in control.
    Laurie Kellman, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2024
  • In some ways, the expectations of interest rate cuts by the Fed undermined their efforts to actually cut the rates.
    Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024
  • Some legal scholars and rights advocates say this would undermine due process.
    Kanis Leung, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2024
  • This is an attempt to undermine faith in our democracy, undermine faith in the integrity of our election.
    ABC News, 6 Aug. 2023
  • Anything that undermined the usual business application seems to have been the aim.
    Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023
  • The nationwide protests in 2019 drew people of all faiths who said the law undermines India’s foundation as a secular nation.
    Sheikh Saaliq, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2024
  • And the vast range of creators’ goals and strategies, coupled with the volatility of the job market, has undermined efforts for creators to build collective positions of their own.
    Taylor Lorenz, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2023
  • The report identified a range of issues that, if not addressed, threaten to undermine the progress women’s soccer has made in England.
    Rory Smith, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2023
  • Critics also say that the very idea of an escape hatch such as SRM could undermine support for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
    Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 19 Sep. 2023
  • Now, after a year of combat, many of these homespun groups of volunteers are fighting with themselves and undermining the war effort.
    Thomas Gibbons-Neff, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2023
  • Yet the visit could undermine China’s efforts to appear neutral.
    Lily Kuo, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2023
  • For some, that period undermined the belief that hard work was enough to succeed in America, the optimism that had brought many families to the Midwest to begin with.
    Melina Mara, Washington Post, 9 Dec. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'undermine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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