undermine
- 01 C2 Proficiency
to explain a thing by only looking at the smaller parts that make it up.
to reduce an object to its component parts or sub-entities, denying its autonomous reality as a whole.
Simple“Some thinkers undermine the idea of a 'table' by saying it is just a collection of atoms.”
In context“In object-oriented ontology, to undermine an object is to claim it is nothing more than the sum of its constituent pieces.”
UsageUsed specifically within the framework of Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO).
SynonymsreducedeconstructAntonymsovermine
Usage undermine his credibility
“The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) referred the decision to the High Court - a move the agency can do if it believes a prisoner's release would undermine public confidence in the parole system.”
“Thursday's vote was seen as a test of Zambia's reputation as one of Africa's most stable democracies, amid concerns that political freedoms are being undermined.”
From under- + mine.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.