ruinous

[ roo-uh-nuhs ]

adjective

1. bringing or tending to bring ruin; destructive; disastrous:

   a ruinous war.

   Synonyms: catastrophic, devastating, calamitous

2. fallen into ruin; dilapidated:

   a ruinous house.

3. consisting of ruins:

   a ruinous city from antiquity.

ruinous

/ ˈruːɪnəs /

adjective

1. causing, tending to cause, or characterized by ruin or destruction

   a ruinous course of action

Derived Forms

• ˈruinously, adverb
• ˈruinousness, noun

Other Words From

• ruin·ous·ly adverb
• ruin·ous·ness noun
• non·ruin·ous adjective
• non·ruin·ous·ly adverb
• non·ruin·ous·ness noun
• un·ruin·ous adjective
• un·ruin·ous·ly adverb
• un·ruin·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ruinous¹

1350–1400; Middle English ruynouse < Latin ruīnōsus, equivalent to ruīn ( a ) ruin + -ōsus -ous

Example Sentences

Fire officials are used to battling large fires this time of year, but a ruinous combination of extreme conditions and challenging geography hampered early efforts.

From Los Angeles Times

Industrial-scale businesses will surely rebound, but the rapid succession of ruinous hurricanes may well discourage family farms and small producers from rebuilding, abandoning their livelihoods for less vulnerable ventures.

From Salon

There could be hidden earthquake flaws in your single-family home in California — enough to be ruinous and possibly deadly in the next big earthquake.

From Los Angeles Times

She then took four shots from the back of the green for a ruinous double bogey and then failed to capitalise on an accurate approach to the 16th.

From BBC

It was ruinous for Woods, who buried his ball in a bunker with his first shot and walked off with a triple-bogey six.

From BBC

Related Words

• calamitous
• cataclysmic
• catastrophic
• crippling
• damaging
• deadly
• dire
• fatal
• harmful
• hurtful
• murderous
• pernicious