Decrease vs Undermine - What's the difference?
decrease | undermine |
Of a quantity, to become smaller.
To make (a quantity) smaller.
An amount by which a quantity is decreased.
(knitting) A reduction in the number of stitches, usually accomplished by suspending the stitch to be decreased from another existing stitch or by knitting it together with another stitch. See .
To dig underneath (something), to make a passage or for destructive or military purposes; to sap.
* 2009 , (Diarmaid MacCulloch), A History of Christianity , Penguin 2010, p. 312:
(figuratively) To weaken or work against; to hinder, sabotage.
* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 19, author=Josh Halliday, work=the Guardian
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As verbs the difference between decrease and undermine
is that decrease is of a quantity, to become smaller while undermine is to dig underneath (something), to make a passage or for destructive or military purposes; to sap.As a noun decrease
is an amount by which a quantity is decreased.decrease
English
Verb
(decreas)Synonyms
* (become smaller) drop, fall, go down, plummet (rapidly), plunge (rapidly), reduce, shrink, sink * (make smaller) abate, cut, decrement, lower, reduceAntonyms
* (become larger) go up, grow, increase, rise, soar (rapidly), shoot up (rapidly) * (make larger) increase, increment, raise, up (informal)Noun
(en noun)Synonyms
* (amount by which a quantity is decreased) cut, decrement, drop, fall, loss, lowering, reduction, shrinkageAntonyms
* (amount by which a quantity is decreased) gain, increase, increment, raise , riseundermine
English
Verb
(undermin)- 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.
Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?, passage=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.}}