1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a ruinous miscalculation of the financial markets left them bankrupt
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2
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction
a ruinous windstorm destroyed the crops
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ruinous
The unlikely but true tale of a multimillion dollar, inside job heist, the 2016 film is a crazy cinematic ride with a who’s who of A-list funny folk and moments hilariously dumb and graceful, romantic and ruinous.
—
Lesley O'Toole, Variety, 10 June 2025
The warnings from The Planetary Society, which have been echoed by many naysayers to Trump’s new direction, say the agency is choosing a ruinous path.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 June 2025
That’s great for them but ruinous for competitive balance at home; since the turn of the millennium, Lincoln have failed to win Gibraltar’s top league only twice.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 31 May 2025
Making these obligations even more ruinous, patient advocates say, is that many may be based on inaccurate health care bills.
—Gretchen Morgenson, NBC news, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Lesley O'Toole, Variety, 10 June 2025
The warnings from The Planetary Society, which have been echoed by many naysayers to Trump’s new direction, say the agency is choosing a ruinous path.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 June 2025
That’s great for them but ruinous for competitive balance at home; since the turn of the millennium, Lincoln have failed to win Gibraltar’s top league only twice.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 31 May 2025
Making these obligations even more ruinous, patient advocates say, is that many may be based on inaccurate health care bills.
—Gretchen Morgenson, NBC news, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruinous
Adjective
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That does not mean people place blind faith in AI or use it to displace human-to-human interactions; that would be disastrous.—
Yasmin Green,
Foreign Affairs,
7 July 2025
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It was largely forgotten about until closer to release (December 2020 was launch, and its disastrous release was all anyone could talk about).—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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As a result, more children were vaccinated against devastating viruses, and more were lives saved.—
Jennifer Lotito,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
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Saying goodbye to Sunny in July 2024 was devastating.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
An attack in Boulder, Colorado, in June and the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, D.C., in May, are two recent incidents of anti-Jewish violence that have rocked communities in the U.S. Advertisement Read More: The Rise of Antisemitism and Political Violence in the U.S.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
5 July 2025
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Most had gone to sleep by the time of the fatal brawl.—
Emma Seiwell,
New York Daily News,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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He was charged with Attempting to Provide Material Support to Terrorists, Conspiracy to manufacture unregistered destructive devices and aiding and abetting the manufacture of unregistered destructive devices.—
Scott MacFarlane
July 6,
CBS News,
6 July 2025
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These impacts have been felt profoundly with more destructive fires, intense water shortages and flooding in California as well as in many other parts of the world.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 July 2025
Adjective
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Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cell phones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver.—
Anne Marie D. Lee,
CBS News,
14 July 2025
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Fortunately for him, that gaffe will be a little easier to live down than Teal and Weinberg’s unfortunate comments.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
12 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruinous. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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