1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a ruinous miscalculation of the financial markets left them bankrupt
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction
a ruinous windstorm destroyed the crops
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ruinous
Dinner might have been ruined, but this certainly was not any sort of ruinous trade for either team.
—
Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026
And that is far too short, far too error-filled and far too financially ruinous to be sweet for the game’s health.
—Paul Newman, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2026
In a state where ruinous wildfires are commonplace and the threat of catastrophic earthquakes haunts imaginations, Cal OES officials wanted to make sure the new system had redundancies to prevent widespread failure.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 23 Nov. 2025
The events meant to bring us together, like the Super Bowl or March Madness, have been bastardized into vehicles for ruinous addiction.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026
And that is far too short, far too error-filled and far too financially ruinous to be sweet for the game’s health.
—Paul Newman, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2026
In a state where ruinous wildfires are commonplace and the threat of catastrophic earthquakes haunts imaginations, Cal OES officials wanted to make sure the new system had redundancies to prevent widespread failure.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 23 Nov. 2025
The events meant to bring us together, like the Super Bowl or March Madness, have been bastardized into vehicles for ruinous addiction.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruinous
Adjective
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After a disastrous White House meeting a year ago, Zelenskyy has adopted a more practical negotiating stance, emphasizing Ukraine’s goodwill.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Feb. 2026
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Just five months later, Kipnuk was among several villages hit by disastrous storm surge and flooding when Typhoon Halong battered the remote Alaskan coast in October 2025.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Though both storms are similar — with a major storm system lingering over the region for over a day and whipping the region with merciless hurricane-level winds, driving inch after inch of wet snow — what made the 1978 storm so devastating was the apparent suddenness of its arrival.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
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In much of Europe, by contrast, the chauvinism that had fuelled two devastating World Wars rendered such displays largely taboo after Hitler’s defeat.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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That comment came during after-school fodder just days following the fatal shooting of Renee Good.—
Alisha Ebrahimji,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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Two days after a fatal shooting inside a Kansas City nightclub, prosecutors have charged a Kansas City, Kansas, man with two counts of second-degree murder.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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One of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, the Palisades fire burned 23,448 acres and destroyed much of the exclusive Pacific Palisades community, destroying about 6,800 structures and killing 12 people.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
19 Feb. 2026
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The company’s storm costs included $800 million for Hurricane Helene, the most destructive storm in utility history.—
Drew Kann,
AJC.com,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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With so much experience playing Head, Claassen is easily able to improvise in the moment answering random questions, cracking jokes and exchanging repartee with audience members, like the unfortunate man in row B who dared to show up at the theater on Friday in a casual sweatshirt.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Feb. 2026
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Ben Jaggers finds motivation from an unfortunate disqualification that stifled his bid for a medal last year.—
Rick Cantu,
Austin American Statesman,
21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Survivors of the catastrophic avalanche in California's Sierra Nevada that claimed at least eight lives were rescued after using an emergency feature available on some iPhones.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
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General catastrophizing Some people are naturally prone to anxiety and overthinking everything—like a work typo, or a throwaway joke that now feels catastrophic.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruinous. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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