"I'll try." Be honest with your supervisor or colleagues if there's a project you don't think you can take on at that time, instead of starting off by telling someone that you'll "try" to accommodate their request-it could decrease their faith in you and your abilities. Believe you are a good communicator, and your speech will follow.Ĩ. Before your colleagues even have the opportunity to share their thoughts with you, you shrug them off as difficult to comprehend. "Do you know what I mean?" When you drop a "do you know what I mean?" or "do you get what I'm saying?" in after a sentence, you make it sound as though you did not effectively communicate your thoughts. Saying you're welcome is more gracious and acknowledges the help you provided.ħ. Responding to a "thank you" with "no problem" shrugs off your hard work (opens in new tab). "No problem." When someone thanks you, whether it was for holding the door open for a stranger or doing a colleague a last minute favor at work, it's still an effort on your part. But really, it just makes you look weak.Ħ. Maybe you're trying not to come on too strong. Even when we're sure about something, we have the tendency to say that we "think" it rather than "know" it. "I think." Similar to "kind of", saying "I think" undermines whatever it is you're saying. But when you sound like you're not sure of what you're saying, other people won't support your point of view.ĥ. The term "kind of" is generally dropped into a sentence in order to soften the blow of what could potentially reject someone else's idea or opinion. "Kind of." Adding "kind of" to any statement immediately drops the certainty behind the meaning. The events of the past year have undermined people's confidence in the government. She tried to undermine my authority by complaining about me to my boss. + object : to make (someone or something) weaker or less effective usually in a secret or gradual way. Drop the uptalk, and it will instantly make you sound more sure of yourself.Ĥ. Britannica Dictionary definition of UNDERMINE. Uptalk. Chances are, you frequently fall to the natural tendency to raise your voice an octave or two higher at the end of a sentence, making even the most solid of statements sound like a question. Think about if you heard someone say: "I'm just worried that…" versus "I'm worried that…" The second sounds much more confident than the first, and as such, is going to get more attention.ģ. "Just." Adding "just" to any sentence instantly makes you seem shy and unsure of what you're saying. Specifically, weaken may imply loss of physical strength, health, soundness, or stability or of quality, intensity, or effective power.2. The words weaken and undermine are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. The words disable and undermine can be used in similar contexts, but disable suggests bringing about impairment or limitation in a physical or mental ability.ĭisabled by an injury sustained at work When is it sensible to use enfeeble instead of undermine?Īlthough the words enfeeble and undermine have much in common, enfeeble implies a condition of marked weakness and helplessness.Įnfeebled by starvation When might weaken be a better fit than undermine? Undermining or bullying behaviour is behaviour that makes you feel harassed, offended or socially excluded, and that affects your work. The debilitating effects of surgery When could disable be used to replace undermine?
![to undermine someone to undermine someone](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ab/1c/a8/ab1ca83a1ad6e02d473e297dbe6657d3.jpg)
While the synonyms debilitate and undermine are close in meaning, debilitate suggests a less marked or more temporary impairment of strength or vitality. The meanings of cripple and undermine largely overlap however, cripple implies causing a serious loss of functioning power through damaging or removing an essential part or element.Ĭrippled by arthritis When can debilitate be used instead of undermine? While all these words mean "to lose or cause to lose strength or vigor," undermine and sap suggest a weakening by something working surreptitiously and insidiously.ĭrugs had sapped his ability to think When is cripple a more appropriate choice than undermine? Some common synonyms of undermine are cripple, debilitate, disable, enfeeble, sap, and weaken. Frequently Asked Questions About undermine How is the word undermine distinct from other similar verbs?