1
as in bankrupts
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ravages
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 destroys
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
as in rubble
the portion or bits of something left over or behind after it has been destroyed
the ruins of an abandoned abbey
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of ruins
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
16 June 2026
Again, don't wring the suit, which ruins the shape.
—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
9 June 2026
Think about it the next time a presidential rant ruins your coffee.
—
Steven Andreasen,
Twin Cities,
7 June 2026
As always happens at the start of Scream films — the franchise that 2000's and 2026's Scary Movie films take as their lodestar — the Ghostface killer turns up and ruins everything.
—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 June 2026
Deep dives into childhood trauma sort of ruins it for everyone.
—
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
Defense ruins game plans and wins games in a league where the toughest come out on top.
—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Harsh White Light Bulbs Nothing ruins a festive mood faster than harsh white lightbulbs—and, no, the bulbs in your powder room are not an exception, Zook says.
—
Marisa Suzanne Martin,
The Spruce,
28 May 2026
This scale quickly clogs ordinary solar stills, much like calcium buildup ruins your bathroom showerhead.
—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
27 May 2026
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
23 June 2026
And then the next issue became the funeral, instead of just Scott and Jean hanging out in the ruins.
—
Rob Salkowitz,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
What new Vancouver Canucks management, headlined by co-presidents Henrik and Daniel Sedin and general manager Ryan Johnson, will manage to build atop the ruins of the derelict Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson era remains to be seen.
—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
23 June 2026
At least, that’s what a new analysis of separate ruins found just down the proverbial road from the more famous archeological site seems to indicate.
—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
18 June 2026
Ancient ruins at Hisarlık, Turkey, excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in the 1870s, have been identified as the remnants of Troy.
—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
18 June 2026
The most majestic is San Domenico Golf, an 18-hole course winding through ancient olive groves, archeological ruins, and rocky coastlines.
—
Denny Lee,
Travel + Leisure,
16 June 2026
Mussolini had a villa built, reduced like almost everything else to a pile of ruins.
—
Marzio G. Mian,
Vanity Fair,
16 June 2026
But the sacred institution, founded in 1813, is now in ruins.
—
Ryan Hughes,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Verb
Nothing ruins the start of a weekend away faster than wrestling with an overstuffed bag.
—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
16 June 2026
Again, don't wring the suit, which ruins the shape.
—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
9 June 2026
Think about it the next time a presidential rant ruins your coffee.
—
Steven Andreasen,
Twin Cities,
7 June 2026
As always happens at the start of Scream films — the franchise that 2000's and 2026's Scary Movie films take as their lodestar — the Ghostface killer turns up and ruins everything.
—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 June 2026
Deep dives into childhood trauma sort of ruins it for everyone.
—
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
Defense ruins game plans and wins games in a league where the toughest come out on top.
—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Harsh White Light Bulbs Nothing ruins a festive mood faster than harsh white lightbulbs—and, no, the bulbs in your powder room are not an exception, Zook says.
—
Marisa Suzanne Martin,
The Spruce,
28 May 2026
This scale quickly clogs ordinary solar stills, much like calcium buildup ruins your bathroom showerhead.
—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
27 May 2026
Noun
Unable to leave, residents rely on each other In another neighborhood, a view of the brilliant deep blue of the Mediterranean, a block away, framed the ruins of what had been a famous creamery – Karrit Ice Cream.
—
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
23 June 2026
And then the next issue became the funeral, instead of just Scott and Jean hanging out in the ruins.
—
Rob Salkowitz,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
What new Vancouver Canucks management, headlined by co-presidents Henrik and Daniel Sedin and general manager Ryan Johnson, will manage to build atop the ruins of the derelict Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson era remains to be seen.
—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
23 June 2026
At least, that’s what a new analysis of separate ruins found just down the proverbial road from the more famous archeological site seems to indicate.
—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
18 June 2026
Ancient ruins at Hisarlık, Turkey, excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in the 1870s, have been identified as the remnants of Troy.
—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
18 June 2026
The most majestic is San Domenico Golf, an 18-hole course winding through ancient olive groves, archeological ruins, and rocky coastlines.
—
Denny Lee,
Travel + Leisure,
16 June 2026
Mussolini had a villa built, reduced like almost everything else to a pile of ruins.
—
Marzio G. Mian,
Vanity Fair,
16 June 2026
But the sacred institution, founded in 1813, is now in ruins.
—
Ryan Hughes,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruins
Verb
-
The 2020s have been a decade of compounding American institutional failure — a pandemic, political rupture, an affordability crisis, student loan servicers treated as adversaries, a healthcare system that bankrupts the sick, and a growing sense that the system is not working as advertised.
Verb
-
Wildfire ravages Simi Valley as evacuations are underway.
-
Greenhouses provide protection from scourges like tomato blight, which ravages otherwise beautiful crops in areas with cool, rainy weather.
Verb
-
An agent that cannot reliably query real-time pricing and inventory, or that cannot preserve brand logic through a checkout flow, destroys the value that luxury merchants have spent decades building.
-
April freeze destroys crops Early on the morning of April 21, temperatures in Maryland dropped into the low 20s after weeks of unseasonably warm weather.
Noun
-
At the site, an Associated Press reporter saw rubble and chunks of concrete stained with blood.
-
At the site, an Associated Press reporter saw rubble and chunks of concrete stained with blood.
Verb
-
So when the dog is lost in a severe storm that devastates the region and leaves many homeless, an overwhelmed Rose must balance the urgency of her search mission alongside the misfortune of others close to her.
-
Withholding effective treatment for chronic disease devastates lives and drives up healthcare costs.
Verb
-
Kyle Busch wrecks Ron Hornaday under caution!
-
The change launches biannual arguments about the practice, wrecks havoc on sleep and has inspired voters to go to California polls.
Noun
-
Additional footage appeared to show debris floating in the aftermath of the strike.
-
And an apartment building and a fitness center in the capital were also damaged by falling debris, TASS reported.
Verb
-
An $8,000 Ryvid Anthem or a $10,000 Maeving RM1S will deliver broadly similar urban usability, while the $12,500 Zero FXE absolutely demolishes it on power-per-dollar.
-
The latest filing demolishes the timeworn claim that DOGE was infiltrated into Social Security in order to responsibly ferret out fraud and overspending.
Cite this Entry
“Ruins.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruins. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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