to sabotage

Examples

• All

• Second, recent press reports suggest that several states might be trying to sabotage Iran's nuclear program.

  Academic text (2011)

• And then he tried to just sabotage my whole career.

• Go do that, that those things are going to sabotage you guys for sure.

• You wanna sabotage your career, you go right ahead.

  F1 (2025)

• Was she afraid that someone was trying to sabotage her flight around the world?

  Fiction book (1997)

• So with that said, what are the ways that organizations sabotage themselves from the inside?

• To be honest, I half expected he was going to sabotage it all deliberately.

  Fiction book (1995)

• Is there some level of transparency so that decisions cannot be sabotaged outside of public view?

  Academic text (2005)

• If those bastards think they can sabotage this launch, they've got another thing coming!

  Fiction book (2001)

• Stuxnet was a digital weapon designed to sabotage Iranian nuclear research by damaging what the centrifuges were working on.

  Tiffany McKinley: Sailor (2014)

Synonyms

W

to weaken

vsto sabotage

305 2.8

To make people and things less strong or effective

is more forceful and intentional, aiming to stop something working

U

to undermine

vsto sabotage

270 6.8

Weaken a person or system slowly, often in secret, so it does not work well

is more direct and aims to stop function rather than weaken slowly

T

to tamper

vsto sabotage

113 4.9

To interfere with something without permission in a harmful or dishonest way

involves meddling or minor interference rather than deliberate destruction

S

to subvert

vsto sabotage

34 8.1

To secretly weaken a government, system, or its power

is about direct deliberate damage rather than slow secret political undermining

U

to undermine efforts

vsto sabotage

5 5.6

Make attempts to reach a goal weaker or less effective

targets specific attempts rather than damaging equipment or systems

D

to do a job on

vsto sabotage

• UK

3 7.7

Damage or spoil something badly

is a more neutral or formal term for deliberate damaging acts

S

to sab

vsto sabotage

• UK

9.9

To damage or block something on purpose to protest

is used broadly for deliberate damage not limited to protest actions

O

to obstruct someone's plans

vsto sabotage

5.6

To stop someone on purpose from doing what they planned

targets plans rather than physically breaking things

T

to torpedo their chances

vsto sabotage

7.9

To ruin their chances of success

focuses on ruining success rather than damaging equipment

Antonyms

S

to support

753 1.4

Give money or other help so a person can live and study

P

to promote

566 3.2

Help something grow and become more successful

F

to facilitate

• Formal

187 4.9

To make a task or process easier and help it happen

Compounds

C

counter-sabotage

• Specialized

8.2

Actions to find and stop people who damage important equipment

How Damaging

to destroy

∞ 1.0

to cripple

72 6.3

to sabotage

164 7.1

to obstruct

119 5.1

to impede

35 6.5

Surface Forms

Etymology