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Delegitimize vs Undermine - What's the difference?

delegitimize | undermine |

As verbs the difference between delegitimize and undermine

is that delegitimize is to make something illegal that was previously legal while undermine is to dig underneath (something), to make a passage or for destructive or military purposes; to sap.

delegitimize

English

Verb

(delegitimiz)
  • To make something illegal that was previously legal
  • undermine

    English

    Verb

    (undermin)
  • 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:
  • 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.
  • (figuratively) To weaken or work against; to hinder, sabotage.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 19, author=Josh Halliday, work=the Guardian
  • , title= 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.}}

    Antonyms

    * undergird