1
2
: 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
Granted, the dropoff from Allen to any replacement is immense, perhaps ruinous.
—
Tim Graham, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
This thoughtful design scheme extends to the world at large too – each location is brimming with tidbits to find that inform players about the ruinous history at the core of the town.
—Sarah Thwaites, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2025
Indeed, many California water officials and experts agreed that the plan had the potential to be ruinous.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Tim Graham, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
This thoughtful design scheme extends to the world at large too – each location is brimming with tidbits to find that inform players about the ruinous history at the core of the town.
—Sarah Thwaites, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2025
Indeed, many California water officials and experts agreed that the plan had the potential to be ruinous.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Cite this Entry
“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruinous. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ruinous
adjective
ru·in·ous
ˈrü-ə-nəs 
: causing or tending to cause ruin : destructive
ruinously
adverb
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share