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 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

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

Noun

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

Geraldine Perdomo said of her sister, who was feverishly clawing at the ruins of her home for anything that would confirm the death of her two daughters. — Fernanda Pesce, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026

The porch provides shelter from the elements and frames views of the water and the ruins of an old masonry boathouse that dominate the vista. — Fred Albert, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026

In its vision of a desolate America ruled by tyranny and militia, the United States becomes, in the eyes of those who live in its pre-industrial ruins, an idealized symbol of better times. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 3 July 2026

The patriotism-to-cure-nationalism idea can be traced back to a classic essay by George Orwell, in which the writer characterized nationalism as a disease that grows on the ruins of religious faith and kinder, humbler forms of patriotism. — Dominic Erdozain, Time, 3 July 2026

The engineer flew in from Tampa to try and find her mother, sister, brother-in-law and nephew in the ruins of their nine-story apartment building, sleeping on the ground since arriving two nights ago. — Isa Soares, CNN Money, 1 July 2026