Verb

(en verb)

To cut free.

After he graduated, he severed all links to his family.

to sever the head from the body

* Bible, Matthew xiii. 49

The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just.

To suffer disjunction; to be parted or separated.

(Shakespeare)

To make a separation or distinction; to distinguish.

The Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt. — Ex. ix. 4.

They claimed the right of severing in their challenge. — Macaulay.

(legal) To disunite; to disconnect; to terminate.

to sever an estate in joint tenancy

(Blackstone)

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.}}