in ruins
idiom
: destroyed with some pieces or parts remaining
The building was/lay in ruins.
—sometimes used figurativelyAfter her death, the family was in ruins.
Examples of in ruins in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The raid has left much of Al-Shifa in ruins, with some of the walls that remain intact spattered with blood and civilians describing mass arrests.
—
Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 26 Mar. 2024
Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images Five months of fighting between Israel and Hamas have left much of Hamas-run Gaza in ruins and led to a worsening humanitarian catastrophe.
—CBS News, 7 Mar. 2024
In a matter of hours, all that the cell had built lies in ruins.
—Quanta Magazine, 6 Mar. 2024
The group has enjoyed a surge of popularity among Palestinians in the West Bank, and much of Gaza lies in ruins.
—Shashank Joshi, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Once bustling urban areas lie in ruins, with roads and many public areas transformed into wastelands.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2024
The last war, in 2006, killed over 1,200 people in Lebanon and 165 in Israel and left swaths of this beleaguered country in ruins.
—Liz Sly, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023
The Israeli offensive has left much of the enclave in ruins and displaced some 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
—Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2024
Hitler and Goebbels, of course, died by their own hands in defeat, having left tens of millions of Europeans dead and their country in ruins.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024
Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 26 Mar. 2024
Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images Five months of fighting between Israel and Hamas have left much of Hamas-run Gaza in ruins and led to a worsening humanitarian catastrophe.
—CBS News, 7 Mar. 2024
In a matter of hours, all that the cell had built lies in ruins.
—Quanta Magazine, 6 Mar. 2024
The group has enjoyed a surge of popularity among Palestinians in the West Bank, and much of Gaza lies in ruins.
—Shashank Joshi, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Once bustling urban areas lie in ruins, with roads and many public areas transformed into wastelands.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2024
The last war, in 2006, killed over 1,200 people in Lebanon and 165 in Israel and left swaths of this beleaguered country in ruins.
—Liz Sly, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023
The Israeli offensive has left much of the enclave in ruins and displaced some 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
—Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2024
Hitler and Goebbels, of course, died by their own hands in defeat, having left tens of millions of Europeans dead and their country in ruins.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'in ruins.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near in ruins
Cite this Entry
“In ruins.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%20ruins. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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