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

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 time like misplaced sympathy, and siding with the man of the house in a series that’s more rooted in women’s perspectives with each passing season just feels wrong. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 27 Oct. 2026

George Santos simply cannot get up After surprising the DS by passing the first task — falling out of a hovering helicopter backward — Santos ruins his big moment by struggling to swim to the dock and not being able to lift himself out of the water. — Sarah Hearon, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2026

Nothing ruins an outfit faster than an ill-fitting bra, which is why this V-neck option caught our eye. — Jacqueline Tempera, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026

Bringing these types of guys back is what ruins a team’s flexibility. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2026

And that’s a bit of a problem, because nothing ruins the allure of the new and novel quite like ubiquity. — Byron Hurd, The Drive, 27 Aug. 2026

Actual Roman ruins As for those interested in seeing legitimate sites, Arya recommends Verona for an amphitheater, or Aquileia, two and a half hours northeast on Veneto’s border with Friuli. — Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026

When porch days turn into nights, nothing ruins the vibe of an evening gathering or solo wind-down faster than a blinding flashlight or hunting for an outlet. — Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Aug. 2026

The Carhartt Mansion ruins in Rock Hill are the remains of a lavish 1909 homestead built by workwear founder Hamilton Carhartt, who once owned three miles of land along the Catawba River. — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 7 Aug. 2026

Noun

The board heard two days of testimony from Weisheit, lawyers, the children’s parents and first responders who were at an Evansville home in 2010 when the bodies of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch were recovered in the fire ruins. — ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026

The board heard two days of testimony from Weisheit, lawyers, the children's parents and first responders who were at an Evansville home in 2010 when the bodies of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch were recovered in the fire ruins. — CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026

Using photogammetry, a technique which renders 2D surfaces into 3D models, and game engines, Montoya directs a virtual drone that hovers over the ruins of cities and its strange, frozen residents. — Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Hitler rarely used the Kehlsteinhaus — unlike the Berghof residence, also in the Berchtesgaden area, the ruins of which were demolished in 1952. — Geir Moulson, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026

Throughout the South, the people and movement calling itself the Confederacy lay in utter ruins. — Literary Hub, 19 Oct. 2026

Ancient ruins have stood the test of time because they are made of stone. — Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026

This chapter is accompanied by somewhat twee images of an owl doll, a bottle of designer perfume, a high heel, and a golden microphone positioned against various ancient Greek ruins, including the Parthenon and the Monument of the Eponymous Heroes. — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026

Archaeologists and historians tell their stories from the ambition and ingenuity that made them, to the conflict and catastrophe that transformed them into the ruins of today. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026