ruin
Americannoun
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ruins
plural
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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.
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a destroyed or decayed building, town, etc.
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a fallen, wrecked, or decayed condition.
The building fell to ruin.
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the downfall, decay, or destruction of anything.
- Antonyms:
- creation, construction
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the complete loss of health, means, position, hope, or the like.
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something that causes a downfall or destruction; blight.
Alcohol was his ruin.
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the downfall of a person; undoing.
Fate decreed the ruin of Oedipus.
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a person as the wreck of their former self; ravaged individual.
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the act of causing destruction or a downfall.
verb (used with object)
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ruins,
present (3rd person singular)
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ruined,
past participle, past
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ruining
present participle
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to reduce to a fallen, wrecked, or decayed condition; devastate.
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to bring (a person, company, etc.) to financial destruction; bankrupt.
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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.
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Older Use. to induce (a woman) to surrender her virginity; deflower.
verb (used without object)
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ruins,
present (3rd person singular)
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ruined,
past participle, past
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ruining
present participle
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to fall into decay; fall to pieces.
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to come to downfall or destruction.
noun
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destroyed or decayed building or town
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the state or condition of being destroyed or decayed
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loss of wealth, position, etc, or something that causes such loss; downfall
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something that is severely damaged
his life was a ruin
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a person who has suffered a downfall, bankruptcy, etc
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loss of value or usefulness
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archaic loss of her virginity by a woman outside marriage
verb
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(tr) to bring to ruin; destroy
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(tr) to injure or spoil
the town has been ruined with tower blocks
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archaic (intr) to fall into ruins; collapse
Usage
What does ruin mean? Ruin is most commonly used as a verb meaning to destroy or spoil. As a noun, ruin means the remains of a destroyed or decayed place, especially a half-standing building or city. It is most commonly used in the plural, as in ancient ruins. Example: I feel like the once-quiet atmosphere of the ancient ruins has been ruined by the presence of too many tourists and commercial vendors.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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ruinernoun
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self-ruinnoun
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half-ruinedadjective
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nonruinableadjective
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ruinableadjective
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self-ruinedadjective
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unruinableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ruinsimple
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ruinssimple
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have ruinedperfect
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has ruinedperfect
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am ruiningprogressive
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are ruiningprogressive
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is ruiningprogressive
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have been ruiningperfect progressive
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has been ruiningperfect progressive
Past
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ruinedsimple
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had ruinedperfect
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was ruiningprogressive
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were ruiningprogressive
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had been ruiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ruin
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; see -ine 2
Explanation
To ruin means to wreck or destroy. If you're wearing a long dress, make sure your clumsy brother stays away from you. If he steps on it, it'll rip and be ruined. Bad news always ruins your day and a guest's bad behavior can really ruin a party and all your fun! Be careful when adding salt to your food — too much will ruin it. Often you will see ruin used as a noun that means the state of ruin, the action that causes it or the destruction itself. If you are a ruin of your former self, you're in pretty bad shape. Use ruins for the remains of old castles and Roman structures.
Vocabulary lists containing ruin
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And then that’s all I could think about while I was doing it, and I was on a road to ruin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
"It's nice just to switch off and you're not going to have someone's camera in your face or a flash going off in a room and ruin it for you," Arron said.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Brushing his hand over crackling vine leaves, French winemaker Gregory Guibergia was relieved a wildfire only scorched the edge of his vineyard but he feared its smoke would ruin this year's vintage.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Mark Singer, Funny Money, a great example of how people see what they want to see in pursuit of investments and neglect to do even basic due diligence, which leads to eventual financial ruin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
I refuse to let them ruin what is apparently the biggest day of the year in South of Somewhere.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Instead, they rebooked with the same company on a different cruise through Rome and Barcelona, where Rousseau said they enjoyed exploring ancient ruins and eating delicious food.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The frantic search for survivors has long since yielded to the grim spectacle of excavators clearing ruins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
In Stourbridge near the UK's second largest city of Birmingham, smoke rose from smouldering ruins of several roofless houses as firefighters sprayed water on the wreckage Friday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
A week before, the forecasts turned, and I rerouted at the last minute to Montreal, to a small park built atop the ruins of Canada’s old Parliament building.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The wrong of her slighted beauty remained with her until Troy fell in ruins.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
“Sad that a misrepresentation ruined this man’s life,” she told the Press Enterprise, which was first to report the story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
A beaming Vickye Giraldo holds her rescued kitten tight against her chest outside her ruined home in quake-hit Cali, Colombia.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
In Josephson’s phrase he “roved through the West eyeing the ruined hulks of transcontinental railroads,” scooping up the “rich debris.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
A short drive from the ruined school is the cemetery where many of the pupils and teachers are buried.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Samir’s caftan is ruined from the mixture of cherry paste and sugar syrup.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Pastry-hunting tourists are ruining this Italian mountain refuge.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
“If they want to apologize for threatening us and ruining perfectly good systems, that’s a good start.”
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
And finally, they talk about why weather apps are ruining our summer fun.
From Slate ● Aug. 8, 2026
Critics will say this is yet another example of how they are ruining the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
They were ruining everything, crowding around, criticizing, predicting disaster.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
