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: causing or tending to cause ruin
ruinously
adverb
ruinousness
noun
Examples of ruinous in a Sentence
The house has fallen into a ruinous state.
a ruinous miscalculation of the financial markets left them bankrupt
Recent Examples on the Web
As a ruinous civil war roils Yemen, this classroom in the southwestern city of Taiz is Fatima’s refuge.
—
Abdulghani Aqlan, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Mar. 2025
So are organizations like the Institute of Peace, a nonprofit entity established by Congress that came under the crosshairs of Elon Musk’s ruinous DOGE initiative.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 24 Mar. 2025
Pitino enjoys horse races and memberships at America’s most elite clubs, but moved to Greece to coach international basketball (when no one in the U.S. would hire him after a ruinous ending at Louisville) and rode buses as Iona coach while in his late 60s.
—Brendan Quinn, The Athletic, 21 Mar. 2025
The core of the policy was a belief that the white minority regime of apartheid South Africa could be persuaded to loosen its grip on absolute power rather than fight ruinous conflicts against Black adversaries demanding majority rule.
—Alan Cowell, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
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Abdulghani Aqlan, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Mar. 2025
So are organizations like the Institute of Peace, a nonprofit entity established by Congress that came under the crosshairs of Elon Musk’s ruinous DOGE initiative.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 24 Mar. 2025
Pitino enjoys horse races and memberships at America’s most elite clubs, but moved to Greece to coach international basketball (when no one in the U.S. would hire him after a ruinous ending at Louisville) and rode buses as Iona coach while in his late 60s.
—Brendan Quinn, The Athletic, 21 Mar. 2025
The core of the policy was a belief that the white minority regime of apartheid South Africa could be persuaded to loosen its grip on absolute power rather than fight ruinous conflicts against Black adversaries demanding majority rule.
—Alan Cowell, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Cite this Entry
“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruinous. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ruinous
adjective
ru·in·ous
ˈrü-ə-nəs 
: causing or tending to cause ruin : destructive
ruinously
adverb
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