erode

Verb

Synonyms: gnaw gnaw at eat at wear away eat away fret

WordNet 3.0

Verb (2)

become ground down or deteriorate“Her confidence eroded”Synonyms: gnaw gnaw at eat at wear away
remove soil or rock“Rain eroded the terraces”Synonyms: eat away fret

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Erode \E*rode"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Eroded; p. pr. & vb. n. Eroding.] [L. erodere, erosum; e out + rodere to gnaw. See Rodent.]

1.To eat into or away; to corrode; as, canker erodes the flesh. "The blood . . . erodes the vessels." --Wiseman. [1913 Webster]

The smaller charge is more apt to . . . erode the gun.— Am. Cyc.[1913 Webster]

2.(Geol. & Phys. Geog.) (a) To wear away; as, streams and glaciers erode the land. (b) To produce by erosion, or wearing away; as, glaciers erode U-shaped valleys. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

3.to reduce or lessen as if by eroding; as, a politician's base of support is eroded by evidence of corruption; the buying power of the dollar is eroded by inflation. [fig.] [PJC]