undoing
/ʌnˈduːɪŋ
/noun [in singular]
1A person’s ruin or downfall: he knew of his ex-partner’s role in his undoing...
- Their undoing was their failure to capitalise on at least three overlaps from which tries beckoned.
- Her mother's undoing was prompted by her discovery that Alessandro, her much younger husband, had fallen in love with a family friend.
- The forces that led to the council's undoing will not disappear.
Synonyms
downfall, defeat, conquest, vanquishing, toppling, deposition, ousting, unseating, overthrow, ruin, ruination, destruction, annihilation, elimination, end, collapse, failure, loss of power, debasement;
nemesis, Waterloo
rare labefaction
1.1The cause of a person’s ruin or downfall: that complacency was to be their undoing...
- His fear is that this proof will have to be produced individually in each case and that the process will prove the undoing of many, in dairy farming in particular.
- Twice it seemed Carnoustie had the cup in their grasp, but each time it was their own failings, rather than the extraordinary Strang which proved their undoing.
- Her strange sexual allure is her undoing, almost a punishment, and a lifetime of violence and abuse sees her looking for love in all the wrong places.
Synonyms
fatal flaw, Achilles heel, weakness, weak point/spot, (soft) underbelly, failing, blight, misfortune, affliction, trouble, curse