ruin

[roo-in]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ruin ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

a destroyed or decayed building, town, etc.

a fallen, wrecked, or decayed condition: The building fell to ruin.

the downfall, decay, or destruction of anything.

the complete loss of health, means, position, hope, or the like.

something that causes a downfall or destruction; blight: Alcohol was his ruin.

the downfall of a person; undoing: the ruin of Oedipus.

a person as the wreck of his or her former self; ravaged individual.

the act of causing destruction or a downfall.

verb (used with object)

to reduce to ruin; devastate.

to bring (a person, company, etc.) to financial ruin; bankrupt.

to injure (a thing) irretrievably.

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

verb (used without object)

to fall into ruins; fall to pieces.

to come to ruin.

Origin of ruin

1325–75; (noun) Middle English ruine < Middle French < Latin ruīna headlong rush, fall, collapse, equivalent to ru(ere) to fall + -īna -ine²; (v.) (< Middle French ruiner) < Medieval Latin ruīnāre, derivative of Latin ruīna

Related formsru·in·a·ble, adjectiveru·in·er, nounhalf-ru·ined, adjectivenon·ru·in·a·ble, adjectiveself-ru·in, nounself-ru·ined, adjectiveun·ru·in·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms for ruin

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ruin ON THESAURUS.COM

3. 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. 4. fall, overthrow, defeat, wreck. 10. demolish, destroy, damage. See spoil.

Antonyms for ruin

4. construction, creation.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ruins

residue, foundation, wreck, remains, detritus, rubble, ashes, debris, wreckage, destruction, remnants, relics, traces

Examples from the Web for ruins

Contemporary Examples of ruins

But so far, the lack of proven Roman artifacts or ruins in the town has raised suspicions.
The Chinese Town Descended From Romans?
Nina Strochlic
December 4, 2014
By the time villagers returned to the ruins of Khuzaa in early August, the Givatis had moved south.
The Ghosts of Gaza: Israel’s Soldier Suicides
Creede Newton
October 28, 2014
Neither Schwend nor Spitz maintained a low profile in the ruins of Munich and they soon attracted attention.
On the Trail of Nazi Counterfeiters
Dr. Kevin C. Ruffner
September 20, 2014
The ruins of an ancient town deep in the Kenyan forest have befuddled archaeologists and historians for decades.
Kenya Has Its Own Machu Picchu—the Lost Town of Gedi
Nina Strochlic
September 18, 2014
Amid the ruins of the house some things had escaped any harm: a Waterford crystal glass fruit bowl and the telephone.
Life Under Air Strikes: Children Under Fire Will Never Forget — or Forgive
Clive Irving
August 3, 2014

Historical Examples of ruins

And the sacred "ordinance," with all other proprieties, was left in ruins that day.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
It was at the home of the Lemballeuse, the family who lived in the ruins of the mill.
The Dream
Emile Zola
He leaves no permanent monument, no ruins of former greatness.
Indian Legends of Vancouver Island
Alfred Carmichael
But for some reason this town, also, died and left the ruins alone.
Buried Cities, Part 2
Jennie Hall
There they sprouted and grew, and at last flowers and grass covered the ruins.
Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, Mycenae
Jennie Hall

British Dictionary definitions for ruins

ruin

noun

destroyed or decayed building or town

the state or condition of being destroyed or decayed

loss of wealth, position, etc, or something that causes such loss; downfall

something that is severely damagedhis life was a ruin

a person who has suffered a downfall, bankruptcy, etc

loss of value or usefulness

archaic loss of her virginity by a woman outside marriage

verb

(tr) to bring to ruin; destroy

(tr) to injure or spoilthe town has been ruined with tower blocks

(intr) archaic, or poetic to fall into ruins; collapse

Derived Formsruinable, adjectiveruiner, noun

Word Origin for ruin

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ruins

ruin

late 14c., "act of giving way and falling down," from Old French ruine "a collapse" (14c.), and directly from Latin ruina "a collapse, a rushing down, a tumbling down" (cf. Spanish ruina, Italian rovina), related to ruere "to rush, fall violently, collapse," from PIE *reue- "to smash, knock down, tear out, dig up" (see rough (adj.)). Meaning "complete destruction of anything" is from 1670s. Ruins "remains of a decayed building or town" is from mid-15c.; the same sense was in the Latin plural noun.

ruin

1580s (transitive), from ruin (n.). Intransitive sense "fall into ruin" is from c.1600. Financial sense is attested from 1660. Related: Ruined; ruining.

Idioms and Phrases with ruins

ruin

see rack and ruin.