1
as in bankrupting
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in destroying
to bring destruction to (something) through violent action
tornadoes ruined a wide swath of the county
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in wrecking
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of ruining
In fact, for some items, a standard cold wash can be ruining.
—
Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 30 Jan. 2026
The Dodgers’ $240-million signing of Kyle Tucker revived anguished cries that the team is ruining baseball.
—Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
The findings are in keeping with reports from astronomers that SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are increasingly ruining their observations.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 26 Jan. 2026
Matt Arnold, the executive who worked underneath Stearns with the Brewers, jokingly apologized for ruining dinner when speaking about the trade Thursday afternoon to reporters in Milwaukee.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026
Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Police said the man got out of the truck with a knife and slashed and ruining the flag before leaving the area.
—Mike Darnay, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
This article was originally published on Jan 17 Your smartphone works hard when shooting photos and videos, ruining your battery life and heating up your pocket.
—Paul Monckton, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
This laundry room staple may be ruining your towels.
—Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 20 Jan. 2026
And, from this week’s issue, Nicola Twilley’s reporting on another lingering effect of the wildfires—smoke taint that is ruining grapes and threatening California’s wine industry.
—Dana Goodyear, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026
Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 30 Jan. 2026
The Dodgers’ $240-million signing of Kyle Tucker revived anguished cries that the team is ruining baseball.
—Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
The findings are in keeping with reports from astronomers that SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are increasingly ruining their observations.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 26 Jan. 2026
Matt Arnold, the executive who worked underneath Stearns with the Brewers, jokingly apologized for ruining dinner when speaking about the trade Thursday afternoon to reporters in Milwaukee.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026
Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Police said the man got out of the truck with a knife and slashed and ruining the flag before leaving the area.
—Mike Darnay, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
This article was originally published on Jan 17 Your smartphone works hard when shooting photos and videos, ruining your battery life and heating up your pocket.
—Paul Monckton, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
This laundry room staple may be ruining your towels.
—Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 20 Jan. 2026
And, from this week’s issue, Nicola Twilley’s reporting on another lingering effect of the wildfires—smoke taint that is ruining grapes and threatening California’s wine industry.
—Dana Goodyear, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruining
Verb
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The indictment, unsealed in a federal courthouse in New York on Thursday, accuses Patrick James and Edward James of bankrupting First Brands and fraudulently obtaining billions of dollars behind the backs of the company's lenders and financing partners.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The government dissolved Aum as a tax-exempt religious organization, effectively bankrupting it, and began to scrutinize other new religions, including the Unification Church.—
E. Tammy Kim,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That trust was put to the test in 1976, when the Teton Dam failed, and more than 80 billion gallons of water spilled out of the breached reservoir, killing six people in Rexburg and destroying hundreds of millions of dollars of property.—
Northwest River Partners,
Idaho Statesman,
5 Feb. 2026
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After the phone was seized, investigators determined Johnson used an online account or third-party service to remotely wipe the device, destroying potential evidence.—
Adrienne Davis,
jsonline.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The wrecking contractor did a superb job of clearing the area.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
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Pop legend Taylor Swift’s friends and lovers (ahem, Travis Kelce) can’t stop breaking her chairs and wrecking her house.—
Katie Schultz,
Architectural Digest,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This is a chilling history of a problem still ravaging significant swaths of America — not to mention elsewhere in the world.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Jan. 2026
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Her consistent binge sessions are ravaging her spirit.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And demolishing that building, by the way, is not inexpensive.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Feb. 2026
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The restaurant’s landlord had previously expressed interest in demolishing the building to make way for a multistory residential project.—
Sean Timberlake,
Sacbee.com,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While an eight-game winning run saw Cherki, Foden and Haaland hit their devastating best, three frustrating draws against Sunderland, Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion were characterised by wastefulness in front of goal.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
12 Jan. 2026
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Group members want to see Bonta’s office take ownership of a review, as occurred in Hawaii after Maui’s devastating Lahaina fire.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This set from the Good Grips collection is made of borosilicate glass, which is food-safe like standard glass, but also more resistant to heat—meaning it can be taken out of the freezer and popped straight into the microwave to reheat leftovers without shattering.—
Caley Sturgill,
Southern Living,
30 Jan. 2026
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Both films feature an early phone call which is clearly shattering for their characters.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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By smashing together heavy atoms of lead traveling at near-light speeds using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), scientists can create a high-energy environment that briefly frees gluons and quarks from this atomic bondage, recreating the quark-gluon plasma of the early universe.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Repurposing waste heat The launch of the system marked the first time that the Large Hadron Collider, better known for smashing protons at near-light speeds, has been tapped as a renewable thermal source.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ruining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruining. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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