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
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
The federal government itself also has a near-monopoly on the market for economically ruinous student loans—the very loans that are themselves disproportionately responsible for abetting the modern four-year college's misbegotten status as a necessary rite of passage to achieve the American dream.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
There are more lecture tours, and ruinous business adventures — the financial writer in Chernow is more at ease with this material.
—Dwight Garner, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Its timelines collapse and blur, and its characters are bound by ruinous, inescapable fates; the reader cannot avoid disorientation.
—Marion Renault, The Atlantic, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Gretchen Morgenson, NBC news, 30 May 2025
The federal government itself also has a near-monopoly on the market for economically ruinous student loans—the very loans that are themselves disproportionately responsible for abetting the modern four-year college's misbegotten status as a necessary rite of passage to achieve the American dream.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
There are more lecture tours, and ruinous business adventures — the financial writer in Chernow is more at ease with this material.
—Dwight Garner, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Its timelines collapse and blur, and its characters are bound by ruinous, inescapable fates; the reader cannot avoid disorientation.
—Marion Renault, The Atlantic, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruinous
Adjective
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Skipping this governance checkpoint essentially means letting people create powerful and untested tools for decision making, which could be disastrous to an organization’s future success.—
Larry English,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
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Trading away Jokic would be disastrous, and the thought of it is just as bad.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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Despite these devastating effects, access to specialized treatment is limited.—
Julienne Verdi,
Boston Herald,
22 June 2025
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Last Thursday, Trump gave the regime in Tehran an ultimatum: The mullahs needed to conclusively abandon their nuclear enrichment program or face devastating American strikes within the next two weeks.—
The Editors,
National Review,
22 June 2025
Adjective
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And the mid-Atlantic recently saw its first fatal case of Heartland Virus.—
Pien Huang,
NPR,
23 June 2025
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The United States has struck a crippling, but not fatal blow at Iran’s nuclear weapons aspirations.—
Brett Schaefer,
National Review,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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And now, the American political divide has turned increasingly violent with political assassinations, assaults, Swatting, online threats, jackboot arrests, armed military in the city streets, and mutually destructive behavior.—
Thomas Cangelosi,
Hartford Courant,
27 June 2025
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His freedom was seen as part of a broader effort to address destructive federal policies, including the Indian boarding-school system, which Peltier was subjected to.—
Nick Estes,
New Yorker,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Shakira does appear to be the beneficiary of an unintended consequence stemming from her unfortunate moves.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2025
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The stern instructor displays a remarkable amount of patience as the student bashes the unfortunate victim against every solid surface in sight — even alien beings capable of traversing the cosmos can have bad days at the office.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruinous. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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