Synonyms of ruins

ruins 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of ruin

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

• bankrupts
• busts
• breaks
• reduces
• impoverishes
• beggars
• wipes out
• pauperizes
• cleans (out)
• straitens

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• enriches
• richens

2

as in ravages

to bring destruction to (something) through violent action

tornadoes ruined a wide swath of the county

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ravages
• destroys
• devastates
• wrecks
• scourges
• plunders
• despoils
• desolates
• shatters
• overwhelms
• obliterates
• loots
• pillages
• sacks
• wipes out
• vaporizes
• annihilates
• eradicates
• strips
• wastes
• wracks
• forays
• demolishes
• decimates
• expunges
• extirpates
• harries
• extinguishes
• nukes
• marauds
• smashes
• totals
• razes
• rubs out
• mows
• overthrows
• overruns
• overpowers
• crushes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restores
• recovers
• redeems
• repairs
• rehabilitates
• fixes
• reconditions
• mends
• patches
• revamps

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

• destroys
• wrecks
• demolishes
• shatters
• devastates
• smashes
• damages
• wastes
• ravages
• overcomes
• erodes
• desolates
• annihilates
• decimates
• razes
• mars
• vaporizes
• extinguishes
• wracks
• cripples
• pulverizes
• tears down
• pulls down
• nukes
• totals
• kills
• rubs out
• crushes
• defeats
• dismantles
• breaks
• does in
• injures
• creams
• blasts
• spoils
• removes
• masters
• subdues
• conquers
• disfigures
• disintegrates
• prevails (over)
• deteriorates
• harms
• wins (against)
• impairs
• overbears
• triumphs (over)
• licks
• dissolves
• surmounts
• defaces
• routs
• mutilates
• bests
• dynamites
• obliterates
• vitiates
• sweeps (away)
• clobbers
• trims
• despoils
• mangles
• eradicates
• overmatches
• scours
• trounces
• guts
• unmakes
• thrashes
• washes out
• vandalizes
• exterminates
• blows up
• wipes out
• plunders
• stamps (out)
• undoes
• beats
• slaughters
• murders
• loots
• effaces
• wears (away)
• whips
• scotches
• assassinates
• wallops
• extirpates
• expunges
• takes down
• roots (out)
• pillages
• tramples
• disassembles
• sacks
• blots out
• cuts down
• liquidates
• slays
• trashes
• unbuilds
• kills off
• dilapidates
• drubs
• massacres
• snuffs (out)
• mows (down)
• takes out
• dispatches
• fells
• zaps
• executes
• skunks
• havocs
• butchers

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• builds
• constructs
• repairs
• raises
• doctors
• sets up
• creates
• erects
• rears
• fixes
• forms
• manufactures
• produces
• makes
• shapes
• fathers
• constitutes
• puts up
• invents
• institutes
• protects
• establishes
• preserves
• frames
• fashions
• assembles
• founds
• patches
• mends
• brings about
• saves
• reconditions
• organizes
• revamps
• restores
• conserves
• forges
• molds
• reconstructs
• fabricates
• rebuilds
• renovates
• remodels

ruins

2 of 2

noun

plural of ruin

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

• rubble
• debris
• wreckage
• remains
• remnant
• ashes
• wreck
• detritus
• residue
• flotsam
• dust
• garbage
• junk
• leavings
• litter
• rubbish
• trash
• refuse
• jetsam
• scrap
• chaff
• waste
• dross
• deadwood
• riffraff

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ruins

Verb

That’s because even ordinary winds – and far worse, storms and earthquakes – cause tall buildings to sway, which ruins people’s concentration, wrecks their mood, and even exhausts them. — New Atlas, 24 July 2026

Hikers walk ancient stone pathways built by the Inca through cloud forests, mountain passes, and Inca ruins. — Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 23 July 2026

Hikers follow ancient stone pathways built by the Inca civilization, crossing cloud forests, high mountain passes, and ruins scattered along the route. — Ashley Lynch, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026

Don’t leave without taking a peek at the castle wall ruins, still picturesque even though the 10th-century Moorish structure is long gone. — Jennifer Fernández Solano, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

The country packs a lot into a relatively small footprint, from ancient Maya ruins to world-class diving along the world’s second-largest barrier reef. — Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 20 July 2026

Nothing ruins a great outfit like unsightly clothing wrinkles and stubborn creases. — Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 18 July 2026

Then, the adults in the family attend a concert in the Borgholm Castle ruins. — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026

Nothing ruins a good karaoke night like that one friend who wants to show off their Mariah Carey–level pipes. — Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 6 July 2026

Noun

The remaining tanks — many salvaged from the ruins themselves — are filled with water from the street. — Julimar Valentina Rivas Perez, NBC news, 24 July 2026

Others end at ancient ruins or the base of the world’s tallest mountain. — Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 23 July 2026

For anyone traveling in search of a signature adventure, these routes deliver ancient ruins, glaciers, alpine passes and rainforests. — Ashley Lynch, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026

Leaders had to look at the ruins and imagine the machinery of repair. — Harry Bruinius, Christian Science Monitor, 21 July 2026

More than 1,000 natural and cultural wonders around the globe carry the UNESCO designation, from Yellowstone National Park to the Great Barrier Reef to the ruins of the Acropolis in Greece. — Adam Van Brimmer, AJC.com, 20 July 2026

This spring, residents were allowed to return to the ruins of the complex, Wang Fuk Court. — New York Times, 20 July 2026

British artist Philip Colberthas installed 36 giant lobster sculptures among Pompeii’s ancient ruins, creating a surreal mash-up of pop art and Roman history inspired by a 2,000-year-old lobster mosaic found at the site. — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 20 July 2026

And, when the military was eventually deployed, the most visible intervention was thousands of armed men controlling traffic and standing idly by the ruins. — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 20 July 2026