to undermine credibility
8
6.6
- phrasal verb
- /ˌʌndərˈmaɪn krɪˈdɛbɪlɪti/
:
socavar la credibilidad
- To the extent that courts behave in an overtly political way, they may undermine the credibility of administrative transparency and trustworthiness.
Examples
-
And our failure to acknowledge our misdeeds over the years has undermined our credibility in the international community.
Blog text (2) -
Can a defendant attack the plaintiff's high demand and thereby undermine the plaintiff's credibility?
Academic text (2016) -
Why do they seem to go out of their way to undermine their own credibility?
Blog text (33) -
In my view, he seriously undermined his own credibility when he took this step.
Blog text (1) -
Activities that undermine the credibility of the effort also undermine its support internationally.
Academic text (2000) -
Intrusions into those systems can undermine the credibility of the company in the eyes of its customers and the general marketplace.
Academic text (2003) -
It would be a constitutional and legal nightmare and would fundamentally undermine the credibility of political leaders.
-
Seriously pressing a point that doesn't pass the giggle test is deadly because it undermines your credibility.
Academic text (2011) -
Indeed, a Japan in prolonged decline will surely undermine the credibility of the U.S.-Japan alliance and weaken regional stability.
Academic text (2002) -
The politician's false statements began to undermine credibility with the voters after the scandal broke.
Synonyms
66
6.3
To harm someone's reputation so others stop trusting them
55
6.1
To make false or unfair statements to hurt someone's reputation
48
7.8
To say bad things about someone without a good reason to make them seem less important
31
6.3
To say false things that damage someone's reputation
20
8.1
To say that someone's words are not honest or true
18
6.8
To say false things about someone that harm their good name
17
4.6
Make people feel unsure if something is true
12
7.7
To make people think someone or something is not acceptable
7
4.6
Make people doubt someone or something
3
6.0
Damage the respect and good opinion people have of someone or something
Antonyms
How Credible
66
6.3
8
6.6
17
4.6
33
4.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents are semantically compositional: 'undermine' means to weaken or damage (often gradually) and 'credibility' means trustworthiness, so the combined meaning 'to weaken someone's trustworthiness' is directly derivable from the parts. This verb + noun composition follows common English patterns and similar logic appears cross-linguistically, making it readily understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Undermine credibility comes from the image of digging away the ground under a building: to undermine is to remove the support so the building becomes weak. Here credibility means people's 'trust', so doing things that remove that support is why the phrase means to weaken or damage someone's trust.