Undermine vs Topple - What's the difference?
undermine | topple |
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= to push, throw over, overturn or overthrow something
* The massed crowds toppled the statue of the former dictator
to totter and fall, or to lean as if about to do so
* The pile of pennies began to topple
As verbs the difference between undermine and topple
is that undermine is to dig underneath (something), to make a passage or for destructive or military purposes; to sap while topple is to push, throw over, overturn or overthrow something.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.}}