ruined 1 of 2

adjective

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in destroyed
to bring destruction to (something) through violent action tornadoes ruined a wide swath of the county

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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
The influx all but ruined Sutter’s extensive land holdings around Sacramento, originally dubbed New Helvetia. — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 15 Aug. 2026 Brentford will be hoping promising midfielder Antoni Milambo can contribute after his debut season was ruined by an ACL injury in October. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026 Tuesday’s second callback inspection, third inspection overall, got ruined by two dead roaches under a dry storage shelf and four live roaches in dry storage. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 14 Aug. 2026 While the bride and groom were able to stay dry, Higgins told Storyful that their decorations and reception were ruined. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 14 Aug. 2026 But the mellow vibes are ruined when a goofy case of mistaken identity results in Frankie coming home with a briefcase containing several vials of a glowing orange goo. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026 Colloidal silver, the suspension of metallic nanoparticles in water that ruined my career, is alleged to function similarly. — Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026 Ormund Hightower gets put on a stick and dragon-fried, Roddy the Ruin is likely ruined. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026 Atlassian is up over 30% this morning after the collaboration software maker, thought to be ruined by AI, reported a great quarter. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruined
  1. doomed
  2. bankrupted
  3. destroyed
  4. demolished
  5. sunk
  6. ravaged
  7. shattered
  8. finished
Adjective
  • The family sat grim-faced and rarely physically reacted to the extensive testimony about gang violence and Tupac Shakur’s doomed trip to Las Vegas.
    — Andy Rose, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Later, of course, the show becomes about trying to become an adult—see Buffy’s doomed day job at the Doublemeat Palace—and that is an exercise in grief too.
    — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of doomed
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
Definition of bankrupted
Verb
  • Glutathione was offered to firefighters during recent blazes that destroyed hundreds of buildings in and around Spokane, Washington.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • If satellites supporting communications or ISR were damaged or destroyed, a faster and less expensive launch system could theoretically allow replacement spacecraft to be deployed more quickly.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of destroyed
Verb
  • Its status as a historic landmark saved it from being demolished like all its sister theaters, but Santana Row owner Federal Realty controls its fate.
    — Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Eventually, some buildings were demolished to control the fires.
    — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of demolished
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
Definition of sunk
Verb
  • The Syrian civil war, which started in 2011, killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions more and has ravaged the country’s economy.
    — Paula Hancocks, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The region ravaged by the quakes is also scarred by floods that, by some estimates, left as many as 30,000 people dead in 1999.
    — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of ravaged
Verb
  • Windows were shattered at a children’s hospital in the Solomianskyi district, said Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko.
    — Kosta Gak, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Cops responding to the area found a window shattered by gunfire and a pool of blood inside Hakim’s, a nearby seasonal restaurant for adults that neighbors say has become a teen hangout.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of shattered
Adjective
  • During China’s first export boom, Chinese factories often imported parts, assembled the finished product and shipped it abroad.
    — Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The finished drinking water will travel south through another underground tunnel around the west side of O’Hare International Airport, where it will be distributed to seven northwest Cook suburbs, including Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates, May said.
    — Marni Pyke, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of finished

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Ruined.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruined. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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