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undoing

undoing

20 4.9
A cause of someone's failure or ruin
  • noun
  • /ʌnˈduːɪŋ/
translation icon : ruina
  • Excuse my friend, his incompetence will some day be his undoing.
  • his own undoing
  • led to their undoing
  • prove their undoing

That knot, our fear so dear is its undoing.

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Examples

  • His carelessness was the undoing of his career.

  • We're also seeing the undoing of our national reputation.

    Academic text (2008)
  • - His feelings could be the undoing of us.

  • And he will be our undoing if we continue to have him here.

  • My doing has been my undoing.

  • A kind heart was always my undoing.

  • Belief will be the undoing of all mankind.

  • - Your vanity will be your undoing.

  • But he had to act spontaneously, with all eyes on him, and that was his undoing.

    Academic text (1999)
  • And it is this ultimately irreconcilable contradiction, they believed, that eventually led to the undoing of the Indian secular state.

    Academic text (1995)

Synonyms

disaster
vsundoing
1.0

A sudden event that causes great damage, loss, or failure

is any action causing ruin, even if not large or sudden
ruin
vsundoing
100 3.2

A state of complete destruction or loss

is the event that causes that state rather than the state itself
downfall
vsundoing
67 5.1

A sudden loss of power or status caused by a mistake

is a broader cause of failure, not only sudden status loss
kiss of death
vsundoing
7 6.2

An action or event that causes something to fail completely

is any cause of failure but not always unavoidable
ruination
vsundoing
6 7.6

A complete destruction or great loss that makes something worthless

is the triggering event or action that brings about that state
backfire
vsundoing
1 6.2

An action or plan that produces an unwanted result often making things worse

is any cause of failure, not only accidental rebound effects
deathblow to
vsundoing
  • Informal
7.6

An action or event that ends something completely

causes failure or ruin but may not end things completely

Antonyms

1.0

Getting what you want after working hard

195 3.7

A time when people or a country have money and success

How Ruined

destruction
849 3.0
ruin
100 3.2
undoing
20 4.9
blow
184 4.4
setback
148 3.6

Surface Forms

undoing singular
undoings plural

Morphology

undoing = undo (semi-transparent) = un + do + ing

Morphologically 'undo' + '-ing', but the sense 'cause of failure or ruin' is an idiomatic/metaphorical extension not directly deducible from the base.

Etymology

Undoing comes from un- 'reverse' and do 'to act'. It can mean an 'unmaking' that causes failure or ruin, which is why we say someone's pride was their undoing.