Detriment vs Undermine - What's the difference?
detriment | undermine |
Harm, hurt, damage.
* {{quote-book
, year=1872
, author=Fyodor Dostoyevsky
, title=The Possessed
, chapter=7
(UK, obsolete) A charge made to students and barristers for incidental repairs of the rooms they occupy.
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
, title=
As a noun detriment
is detriment.As a verb undermine is
to dig underneath (something), to make a passage or for destructive or military purposes; to sap.detriment
English
Noun
(en noun)citation, passage=“But marriage in secret, Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch — a fatal secret. I receive money from you, and I'm suddenly asked the question, 'What's that money for?' My hands are tied; I cannot answer to the detriment of my sister, to the detriment of the family honour.”}}
Usage notes
* Often used in the form "to someone's detriment".Synonyms
* harm * hurt * illfare * damageAntonyms
* benefitExternal links
* *undermine
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.}}