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

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

But their relationship remains undefined, and kind of over after Carter drunkenly ruins Beulah's big party. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 3 July 2026

The out-and-back Sand Canyon Trail (6 miles each way) passes a series of ancestral Puebloan ruins. — Jamie Siebrase, Denver Post, 26 June 2026

There's nothing like watching a sunset on a breezy summer evening on a porch—that is, until a pesky buzzing fly ruins the moment and swoops near your face. — Maria Sabella, The Spruce, 23 June 2026

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

Noun

Nirim, the kibbutz settlement from which the Israeli soldiers who ploughed the border line arrived, was built on the ruins of al-Ma‘in. — Literary Hub, 16 July 2026

The walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins – broken down, exposed, and vulnerable. — Liesl Ehmke, Christian Science Monitor, 15 July 2026

In the mornings, our counselors still walk, slowly now, through the stench of bodies decomposing under the ruins of schools, mosques, and homes. — James Gordon, Time, 14 July 2026

Most of the population of more than 2 million people remains displaced, with many living in crowded tent camps with little or no basic services or in the ruins of buildings. — Wafaa Shurafa, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026

Studying that chemistry in ancient concrete requires a sample that nobody has patched or restored along the way—a rare commodity at ruins tended by generations of conservators. — Sam MacDonald, Scientific American, 11 July 2026

Hikers pass Incan ruins, wide sweeping valleys and vibrant cloud forest before climbing to the route’s high point at Dead Woman’s Pass. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 10 July 2026

Trekking company Ian Taylor Trekking calls it one of the best treks in the world on the company blog, noting that the ruins, passes and camp moments often outshine the final destination. — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 10 July 2026

The ruins of Dungeness, a 59-room, 37,000-square-foot estate house dating to the mid-1880s, once owned by Thomas Carnegie, brother and business partner of Pittsburgh steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. — Jennifer Peebles, AJC.com, 7 July 2026