Synonyms of ruining

ruining

verb

present participle of ruin

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

• bankrupting
• busting
• reducing
• breaking
• impoverishing
• pauperizing
• beggaring
• wiping out
• cleaning (out)
• straitening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• enriching
• richening

2

as in destroying

to bring destruction to (something) through violent action

tornadoes ruined a wide swath of the county

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroying
• ravaging
• devastating
• wrecking
• plundering
• scourging
• stripping
• shattering
• obliterating
• despoiling
• eradicating
• sacking
• wasting
• looting
• pillaging
• vaporizing
• decimating
• marauding
• extinguishing
• annihilating
• demolishing
• expunging
• smashing
• extirpating
• wiping out
• harrying
• overwhelming
• wracking
• totaling
• mowing
• nuking
• desolating
• overthrowing
• razing
• overrunning
• overpowering
• foraying
• crushing
• rubbing out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restoring
• recovering
• rehabilitating
• repairing
• fixing
• redeeming
• reconditioning
• mending
• patching
• revamping

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

• destroying
• wrecking
• demolishing
• shattering
• devastating
• smashing
• damaging
• wasting
• overcoming
• eroding
• decimating
• annihilating
• extinguishing
• marring
• vaporizing
• pulverizing
• ravaging
• razing
• crippling
• killing
• totaling
• creaming
• wracking
• tearing down
• crushing
• breaking
• dismantling
• pulling down
• removing
• nuking
• defeating
• doing in
• blasting
• spoiling
• harming
• injuring
• impairing
• desolating
• subduing
• deteriorating
• disintegrating
• conquering
• rubbing out
• trimming
• mutilating
• licking
• mastering
• prevailing (over)
• winning (against)
• clobbering
• dissolving
• defacing
• eradicating
• whipping
• disfiguring
• obliterating
• surmounting
• dynamiting
• undoing
• mangling
• routing
• vitiating
• wearing (away)
• besting
• gutting
• thrashing
• scouring
• triumphing (over)
• sweeping (away)
• beating
• slaughtering
• vandalizing
• exterminating
• assassinating
• murdering
• plundering
• trampling
• despoiling
• disassembling
• walloping
• sacking
• expunging
• trashing
• blowing up
• liquidating
• trouncing
• extirpating
• looting
• overbearing
• washing out
• effacing
• wiping out
• massacring
• overmatching
• executing
• pillaging
• taking down
• scotching
• cutting down
• butchering
• slaying
• drubbing
• blotting out
• zapping
• stamping (out)
• unmaking
• dilapidating
• skunking
• rooting (out)
• dispatching
• killing off
• snuffing (out)
• taking out
• felling
• mowing (down)
• unbuilding
• havocking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• building
• constructing
• creating
• raising
• repairing
• fixing
• erecting
• rearing
• setting up
• making
• producing
• forming
• shaping
• putting up
• inventing
• establishing
• manufacturing
• protecting
• assembling
• forging
• organizing
• preserving
• saving
• framing
• revamping
• patching
• molding
• fashioning
• fabricating
• constituting
• instituting
• mending
• bringing about
• reconditioning
• restoring
• doctoring
• conserving
• founding
• rebuilding
• reconstructing
• remodeling
• fathering
• renovating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ruining

Museum putty or wax can help keep pieces in place without ruining either the tray or your collectibles. — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Sep. 2026

As fishermen wrestled their catches out of flimsy fiberglass boats near a makeshift shoreside market recently, several stopped to talk with CNN, complaining that the war is ruining business. — Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026

Social media now dominates millions of lives, ruining too many. — Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2026

Global warming is ruining the way of life for these Colorado ranchers demanding accountability. — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026

The fun of Inside Man is letting its revelations slowly roll out, so to say more about the plot would risk ruining the experience. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026

The Horned Frogs crushed the Tar Heels 48-14 in last year’s season opener at Chapel Hill, ruining the college coaching debut of six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2026

So, are invasives ruining the state’s waters, or is the state on the way to becoming the everyman’s Amazon, embraced by the folks who can’t afford the jungle lodge experience? — Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026

For a full breakdown of how to clean your bedding without ruining it, refer to AD's guide on how to wash a comforter. — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 24 Aug. 2026