undermine (v.)
to weaken gradually
Examples
- Rumours undermined trust.
Key rules
- Undermine means weaken something gradually, especially trust or authority
- Undermine someone's confidence
- It is a transitive verb
Common mistakes
- Rumours undermined to trust → Rumours undermined trust
- Rumours undermine on trust → Rumours undermine trust
Use cases
- Discussing trust
- Describing damage to reputation
- Analysing politics
💡 Tip: Undermine is about slow damage; attack is more direct.