Synonyms of ruin

ruin 1 of 2

verb

ˈrü-ən 

1

as in to bankrupt

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

• bankrupt
• break
• bust
• reduce
• impoverish
• pauperize
• wipe out
• clean (out)
• beggar
• straiten

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• enrich
• richen

2

as in to destroy

to bring destruction to (something) through violent action

tornadoes ruined a wide swath of the county

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroy
• ravage
• devastate
• scourge
• wreck
• plunder
• overwhelm
• obliterate
• sack
• despoil
• shatter
• desolate
• eradicate
• pillage
• wipe out
• waste
• strip
• loot
• annihilate
• decimate
• vaporize
• expunge
• extirpate
• demolish
• extinguish
• harry
• total
• smash
• wrack
• overthrow
• mow
• overpower
• foray
• raze
• maraud
• nuke
• overrun
• rub out
• crush

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restore
• recover
• redeem
• rehabilitate
• fix
• repair
• patch
• recondition
• mend
• revamp

3

as in to demolish

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

• destroy
• demolish
• devastate
• shatter
• wreck
• damage
• smash
• overcome
• waste
• annihilate
• erode
• decimate
• desolate
• mar
• ravage
• extinguish
• vaporize
• cripple
• tear down
• raze
• total
• pulverize
• cream
• pull down
• kill
• wrack
• spoil
• rub out
• defeat
• break
• crush
• dismantle
• injure
• best
• nuke
• impair
• harm
• remove
• do in
• blast
• deteriorate
• disintegrate
• subdue
• disfigure
• conquer
• prevail (over)
• win (against)
• vitiate
• triumph (over)
• lick
• rout
• obliterate
• dissolve
• master
• mutilate
• surmount
• eradicate
• deface
• trim
• havoc
• sweep (away)
• undo
• dynamite
• scotch
• blow up
• whip
• wear (away)
• mangle
• slaughter
• thrash
• assassinate
• despoil
• wipe out
• sack
• beat
• unmake
• overbear
• plunder
• wash out
• scour
• exterminate
• clobber
• take down
• trample
• expunge
• extirpate
• disassemble
• blot out
• fell
• gut
• efface
• liquidate
• cut down
• trounce
• pillage
• loot
• dilapidate
• slay
• murder
• massacre
• overmatch
• kill off
• snuff (out)
• vandalize
• drub
• stamp (out)
• wallop
• take out
• execute
• trash
• zap
• unbuild
• butcher
• root (out)
• mow (down)
• skunk
• dispatch

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• build
• construct
• set up
• raise
• create
• repair
• fix
• erect
• put up
• rear
• patch
• make
• produce
• mend
• protect
• form
• invent
• shape
• manufacture
• save
• found
• establish
• constitute
• preserve
• forge
• assemble
• mold
• organize
• revamp
• bring about
• fashion
• institute
• restore
• frame
• fabricate
• recondition
• rebuild
• conserve
• doctor
• reconstruct
• father
• renovate
• remodel

ruin

2 of 2

noun

1

as in destruction

the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless

a vicious bombardment that left the building in ruins

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destruction
• devastation
• havoc
• loss
• extinction
• demolition
• extermination
• ruination
• annihilation
• obliteration
• wastage
• decimation
• wreckage
• collapse
• demolishment
• desolation
• mincemeat
• disintegration
• slaughter
• breakup
• depredation
• dissolution
• killing
• massacre
• despoilment
• execution
• despoliation
• assassination
• eradication
• dismantlement
• effacement

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• building
• construction
• erection
• saving
• raising
• rescue
• salvation
• salvage
• protection
• preservation
• conservation
• restoration
• reclamation
• reconstruction
• remodeling
• renovation
• regeneracy
• re-creation
• refurbishment

2

as in wreck

ruins plural the portion or bits of something left over or behind after it has been destroyed

the ruins of an abandoned abbey

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wreck
• wreckage
• remains
• ashes
• rubble
• remnant
• detritus
• debris
• residue
• flotsam
• refuse
• dust
• garbage
• leavings
• junk
• waste
• litter
• scrap
• trash
• rubbish
• chaff
• jetsam
• dross
• deadwood
• riffraff

3

as in bankruptcy

the inability to pay one's debts

the family faces ruin if the chief breadwinner doesn't find another job very soon

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bankruptcy
• failure
• insolvency
• Chapter 11

4

as in downfall

something that is the cause of one's ultimate failure or loss of life

the politician's eventual ruin would be a sexual indiscretion

Synonyms & Similar Words

• downfall
• destruction
• ruination
• undoing
• curse
• kiss of death
• death
• bane
• torment
• tragic flaw
• Achilles' heel

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ruin

Verb

George Santos simply cannot get up After surprising the DS by passing the first task — falling out of a hovering helicopter backward — Santos ruins his big moment by struggling to swim to the dock and not being able to lift himself out of the water. — Sarah Hearon, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2026

If the laser beam wavers even slightly, defects ruin the crystalline structure. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026

Noun

The original structure had fallen into ruin by the 18th century and was later incorporated into a residence that underwent extensive alterations, including a major Victorian makeover in 1874. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

In the war-and-plague story of Volume II, the wartime siege of Constantinople exacerbates the extreme heat and causes the ruin of the city as well as the eventual spread of the epidemic from the battlefields to the wider world. — Eileen Hunt, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026