1
as in downfall
something that is the cause of one's ultimate failure or loss of life
neglect and indifference have proved to be the ruination of more than one marriage
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in destruction
the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless
although this is a setback, it isn't complete ruination for the company
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example 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 ruination
The sense of ruination experienced by the organizers of those art spaces was something familiar to Quraiqi, who wrote on his Instagram this year that Israeli forces had destroyed his studio.
—
Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 20 Mar. 2025
Read: The mysterious, meteoric rise of Shein In the past several years, cultural awareness has grown about the reality of the fast-fashion business model, which relies on paying factory workers shockingly low wages and takes a multifaceted approach to furthering the ruination of the planet.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2025
The one-time ingenue made gallows humor out of her ruination, glorying in the cracks and croaks of her voice.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025
The aftershocks of the Vietnam War and the ruination of family legacy also came into play in Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).
—Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for ruination
Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 20 Mar. 2025
Read: The mysterious, meteoric rise of Shein In the past several years, cultural awareness has grown about the reality of the fast-fashion business model, which relies on paying factory workers shockingly low wages and takes a multifaceted approach to furthering the ruination of the planet.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2025
The one-time ingenue made gallows humor out of her ruination, glorying in the cracks and croaks of her voice.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025
The aftershocks of the Vietnam War and the ruination of family legacy also came into play in Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).
—Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for ruination
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruination
Noun
-
Despite his warning, lead poisoning may have contributed to the downfall of the Roman Empire through the use of lead in wine, bowls, cups, and cosmetics.—
Tom Frieden,
Big Think,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Starring Boszhardt, Gershon, Adrian Enscoe (Dickinson), Chelsea Gilligan (Star-Crossed), and Madison Lewis (Alexander IRL), the film chronicles the downfall of the once-powerful Wendolyn family.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Wildcats hold a 10-8 edge over the Horned Frogs in their all-time series, including a 41-3 destruction of TCU in 2023 at Manhattan in the teams’ last meeting.—
Jim Barnes,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Cyrus — who married Hemsworth, 35, the following month after the destruction, before later separating in August 2019 — was left to grieve the many memories that were lost.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Murderers Bar shows us the sum of industrial achievement and the stakes of its devastation, human-made but altogether more than human.—
Anne Reeve,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The new season will not lack for Academy Award hopefuls – among them, All the Walls Came Down, Ondi Timoner’s documentary about the devastation of the Eaton Fire in the Altadena neighborhood of Los Angeles and efforts to rebuild.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
And although police have uncovered networks seeking to cause havoc after the election, the fear is that authorities will not be able to expose them all.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Officials also warned of the havoc the network could have caused if left intact.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
That has left dozens of species on the verge of extinction.—
Eyder Peralta,
NPR,
28 Sep. 2025
-
The Upper Cretaceous period, or late Cretaceous, represented the last true age of dinosaurs, stretching from about 100 million years ago to their extinction 66 million years ago.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Farley has managed to woo Wall Street more than his two most recent predecessors — both of whom departed the company after double-digit losses in Ford's stock price.—
Michael Wayland,
CNBC,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Following Indiana's loss to the Aces, Clark took to social media on X and shared a short and touching message to her teammates and to the Fever fan base.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The redshirt freshman went 22 of 30 for 354 yards and four TDs in a 56-13 demolition of the Razorbacks.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Months after the plant shuttered in 2013, the university hired a demolition company to tear down the silos, in order to make way for a parking lot.—
Leo Bertucci,
Louisville Courier Journal,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruination. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share