1
as in bankrupted
to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts
after he was ruined by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the industrialist was forced to sell his mansion and start all over again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in destroyed
to bring destruction to (something) through violent action
tornadoes ruined a wide swath of the county
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in demolished
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
a huge fire that ruined an entire city block
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of ruined
Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 4 Oct. 2024
In 1916, 25 people died when floodwaters swept away buildings, destroyed the local power plant, ruined the railroad and cut Asheville off from the rest of the country, according to the Asheville Museum of History.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 1 Oct. 2024
Homes and lives have been ruined.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 1 Oct. 2024
Instead of basking at the park's desert ecosystem, visitors left graffiti and ruined trails.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 1 Oct. 2024
Verb
Rescue crews are hindered by cell service outages and ruined roads and bridges as federal officials warn money to help people get back on their feet is tenuous with 57 days still left in the official hurricane season.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 4 Oct. 2024
In 1916, 25 people died when floodwaters swept away buildings, destroyed the local power plant, ruined the railroad and cut Asheville off from the rest of the country, according to the Asheville Museum of History.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 1 Oct. 2024
Homes and lives have been ruined.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 1 Oct. 2024
Instead of basking at the park's desert ecosystem, visitors left graffiti and ruined trails.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 1 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruined
Verb
-
Liber Pater wines are made on a tiny patch of land in the Graves region of Bordeaux, one of the few places unaffected by the phylloxera bacterium that destroyed vineyards across Europe in the mid-19th century.Matteo Atti, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024
-
The wineries surrounding this area did suffer some damage, but only one had a portion of its vineyards destroyed.Jessica Dupuy, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024
Verb
-
Buildings on site tied to the Cadillac dealership have already been demolished as part of the redevelopment plans, including a parts service building and a collision, paint, and repair center.Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 4 Oct. 2024
-
The distillery operated sporadically before being mothballed in 1998 and demolished in 2013.Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
The sunk cost fallacy, for example, can lead companies to continue investing in maintaining a physical office space, despite the benefits of remote work.Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, Forbes, 6 Feb. 2023
-
The sunk cost fallacy is a bias that behavioral economists say can cause a person to stick with a losing investment.Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 22 Mar. 2022
Verb
-
Several days after floodwaters devastated entire communities in western North Carolina, only now are the first few victims being identified — as authorities warn of more to come.NBC News, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2024
-
The next report likely will show the impact of Hurricane Helene, which has devastated parts of the Southeast.Ted Johnson, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2024
Verb
-
Federal officials and experts are warning that the winds and floodwaters from Helene that wrecked the Southeast carry unscrupulous fraudsters amid the flotsam.Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 2 Oct. 2024
-
When the smoke cleared, 16 MT-LBs and a tank lay wrecked.David Axe, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
The reality, though, is that even something as apparently low-tech as cooking a potato chip can require over half a dozen different machines to mix, roll, slice, reclaim scraps, fry, sort, flavor and package the finished product.Chris Turlica, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
-
The finished product stands 8 inches tall by 8.5 inches wide when the dark green leaves are fanned out and features five blooming flowers of various sizes.Clint Davis, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near ruined
Cite this Entry
“Ruined.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruined. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share