ruined 1 of 2

as in done
facing certain defeat, disaster, or death your chances for a promotion were ruined the instance you started mouthing off to the boss

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ruined

2 of 2

verb

past tense of ruin
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

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2
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

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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 ruined
Adjective
Sitting on the rim of his consciousness was always cataclysm, the muted whisper of a ruined world. — Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
Verb
In a defense memo, Pattis characterizes Diamantis as a broken and financially ruined former politician and lawyer who at 70 might not survive a long prison sentence. — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 14 Sep. 2026 What could have easily ruined their experience instead became an unforgettable highlight of the trip. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Sep. 2026 Only Hincapie’s wayward finish, a second later, ruined things. — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026 It is associated with the urban renewal that ruined cities and towns all over the world in the postwar period. — Benjamin Moser, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2026 Merchandise was strewn about the vendor area and ruined; tents were left twisted and destroyed. — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 7 Sep. 2026 Craig Robinson is an iconic part of TV history thanks to his role on The Office — but a compliment from the show’s creator nearly ruined his audition. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2026 However, with that beauty comes the need to clean these tiles properly so that the finish isn’t be ruined. — Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 5 Sep. 2026 Time and remodels have ruined the effect, but the building remains. — Fielding Buck, Daily News, 2 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruined
Adjective
  • The track — a folk-pop-infused rumination about a doomed relationship — was nominated for a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards.
    — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Groff played Melchior, a radical thinker who has a tragic and doomed affair with Michele’s Wendla.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Richard Stockton, a lawyer who signed the declaration was captured, starved, and nearly bankrupted by the British.
    — Joseph Andrew, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • Most manufacturers were bankrupted by equipment failures and financial challenges, making the 1990s a tough time for wind power’s pioneers.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 15 June 2026
Verb
  • The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 629 Ukrainian drones overnight over 14 Russian regions, as well as illegally annexed Crimea and the Azov and the Black seas.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
  • In the course of three weeks, Israeli soldiers destroyed much of the area, razing schools and mosques and commandeering buildings for use as military posts.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The administration demolished the East Wing of the White House and is replacing it with a massive ballroom.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • He’s demolished the East Wing of the White House and is replacing it with a ballroom and plans to build a triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
    — Steven Sloan, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • The train is, of course, a classic example of the perennial perils of sunk costs; abandoning the line seems absurd (even to us) given how much money would be written off.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
  • In my experience, mid-market companies operate with leaner teams and cannot absorb the sunk costs of a multi-month implementation with room for scope creep, reworks and failures.
    — Prathamesh Bhingarde, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
Verb
  • Many came from Lee County, which is both where the book is set and one of the counties most ravaged by the opioid epidemic.
    — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
  • This was a big deal; years earlier, Zespri had specifically created the sweeter golden kiwifruit to be resistant to a disease that had ravaged kiwifruit orchards around the world.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • In the mountains on the North Carolina-Tennessee border, rains of up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) turned usually gentle streams into torrents that moved trees, boulders, homes and vehicles, and shattered century-old flood records.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • An officer allegedly saw fresh footprints in the snow leading to the back door and a glass pane that had been shattered.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • That should drive major upside to shares of NexGen, even though the project is far from finished and poses risks, per JPMorgan.
    — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The idea was to give what is normally a temporary and invisible stage of the process as much presence as the finished precious object.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 21 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Ruined.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruined. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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