ruin

[ roo-in ]

noun

1. ruins, the remains of a building, city, etc., that has been destroyed or that is in disrepair or a state of decay:

   We visited the ruins of ancient Greece.

2. a destroyed or decayed building, town, etc.
3. a fallen, wrecked, or decayed condition:

   The building fell to ruin.

4. the downfall, decay, or destruction of anything.

   Synonyms: wreck, defeat, overthrow, fall

   Antonyms: creation, construction

5. the complete loss of health, means, position, hope, or the like.
6. something that causes a downfall or destruction; blight:

   Alcohol was his ruin.

7. the downfall of a person; undoing:

   Fate decreed the ruin of Oedipus.

8. a person as the wreck of their former self; ravaged individual.
9. the act of causing destruction or a downfall.

verb (used with object)

1. to reduce to a fallen, wrecked, or decayed condition; devastate.

   Synonyms: damage, destroy, demolish

2. to bring (a person, company, etc.) to financial destruction; bankrupt.
3. to damage, spoil, or injure (a thing) irretrievably:

   Not only was the burned stew inedible, but I had absolutely ruined one of my favorite pots.

4. Older Use. to induce (a woman) to surrender her virginity; deflower.

verb (used without object)

1. to fall into decay; fall to pieces.
2. to come to downfall or destruction.

ruin

/ ˈruːɪn /

noun

1. destroyed or decayed building or town
2. the state or condition of being destroyed or decayed
3. loss of wealth, position, etc, or something that causes such loss; downfall
4. something that is severely damaged

   his life was a ruin

5. a person who has suffered a downfall, bankruptcy, etc
6. loss of value or usefulness
7. archaic.
   loss of her virginity by a woman outside marriage

verb

1. tr to bring to ruin; destroy
2. tr to injure or spoil

   the town has been ruined with tower blocks

3. archaic.
   intr to fall into ruins; collapse

Derived Forms

• ˈruiner, noun
• ˈruinable, adjective

Other Words From

• ruin·a·ble adjective
• ruin·er noun
• half-ruined adjective
• non·ruin·a·ble adjective
• self-ruin noun
• self-ruined adjective
• un·ruin·a·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ruin¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English noun rueyne, ruyen, from Middle French ruwine, from Latin ruīna “headlong rush, fall, collapse,” equivalent to ruere “to fall” + -īna feminine singular of suffix -īnus; ; verb ultimately derivative of the noun; -ine ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of ruin¹

C14: from Old French ruine , from Latin ruīna a falling down, from ruere to fall violently

Idioms and Phrases

see rack and ruin .

Synonym Study

Ruin, destruction, havoc imply irrevocable and often widespread damage. Destruction may be on a large or small scale ( destruction of tissue, of enemy vessels ); it emphasizes particularly the act of destroying, while ruin and havoc emphasize the resultant state. Ruin, from the verb meaning to fall to pieces, suggests a state of decay or disintegration (or an object in that state) that is apt to be more the result of the natural processes of time and change than of sudden violent activity from without: The house has fallen to ruins. Only in its figurative application is it apt to suggest the result of destruction from without: the ruin of her hopes. Havoc, originally a cry that served as the signal for pillaging, has changed its reference from that of spoliation to devastation, being used particularly of the destruction following in the wake of natural calamities: the havoc wrought by flood and pestilence. Today it is used figuratively to refer to the destruction of hopes and plans: This sudden turn of events played havoc with her carefully laid designs. See spoil.

Example Sentences

Having an attorney general with so much potentially compromising dirt on him could be an asset, it being hard to say “no” to someone would could arguably ruin you.

From Salon

Will it save Hollywood from ruin?

From Los Angeles Times

But a string of disasters and bad luck has since turned his dream into a legendary story of financial ruin.

From Los Angeles Times

“We are on the road to ruin,” Mukhtar Babyaev, president of COP29 said in his opening remarks.

From BBC

“Everything good, anything good I did for me, he made sure to ruin it for me.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bankrupt
• crush
• decimate
• demolish
• deplete
• exhaust
• impoverish
• injure
• mar
• overwhelm
• raze
• shatter
• spoil
• wipe out
• wrack
• wreck