Meanings
nounruin (countable and uncountable, plural ruins)
plural ruins
- countablein pluralsometimesThe remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle.
Dr. Manuel: No one is saved. The age of humanity is ended. Soon, only ruin and corpses will remain.
2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Eden Prime4 more examples
The Veian and the Gabian towirs shall fall, / And one promiscuous ruin cover all; / Nor, after length of years, a stone betray / The place where once the very ruins lay.
1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLCThe labour of a day will not build up a virtuous habit on the ruins of an old and vicious character.
a. 1812, Joseph Stevens Buckminster, sermonA canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.
1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLCNot only is Jerusalem not a ruin, but she is at the height of her glory compared to all of Jewish history!
2024, David Golinkin, “Naḥem On Tisha B'Av: Is It Permissible To Change The Wording?”, in Responsa in a Moment, volume 4, page 136 - uncountableThe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed.
The monastery has fallen into ruin.
- uncountableSomething that leads to serious trouble or destruction.
Gambling has been the ruin of many.
2 more examples
The errors of young men are the ruin of business.
1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Youth and Age”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLCThe Bat—they called him the Bat.[…]. He[…]played a lone hand,[…]. Most lone wolves had a moll at any rate—women were their ruin—but if the Bat had a moll, not even the grapevine telegraph could locate her.
1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 01 - countableobsoleteuncountableA fall or tumble.
His ruin startled th’ other steeds.
[1611?], Homer, “(please specify |book=I to XXIV)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter, →OCLC; republished as The Iliads of Homer, Prince of Poets, […], new edition, volume (please specify the book number), London: Charles Knight and Co., […], 1843, →OCLC - countableuncountableA change that destroys or defeats something; destruction; overthrow.
the ruin of health or hopes
4 more examples
the ruin of a ship or an army
the ruin of a constitution or a government
Oh Portius, is there not some choſen Curſe, Some hidden Thunder in the Stores of Heav’n, Red with uncommon Wrath, to blaſt the Man Who owes his Greatneſs to his Country’s Ruin?
1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2Ruin seize thee, ruthless king!
1768, Thomas Gray, The Bard - uncountableComplete financial loss; bankruptcy.
verbruin (third-person singular simple present ruins, present participle ruining, simple past and past participle ruined or (dialectal, nonstandard) ruint)
present singular third person ruins · participle present ruining · participle past ruined · past ruined · dialectal nonstandard participle past ruint · dialectal nonstandard past ruint
- transitiveTo cause the fiscal ruin of; to bankrupt or drive out of business.
With all these purchases, you surely mean to ruin us!
1 more example
In one way, indeed, he bade fair to ruin us; for he kept on staying week after week, and at last month after month, so that all the money had been long exhausted...
1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLCSynonyms: beggar, destitute, pauperize, beggar, depauperate, depauperize, destitute, embeggar
- To destroy (e.g. a city) so as to leave ruins.
By the fireside there are old men seated, / Seeing ruined cities in the ashes.
1857, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Golden Mile-Stone - BDSMTo make (someone) have a ruined orgasm.
- obsoleteTo fall into a state of decay.
Though he his house of polisht marble build, / Yet shall it ruine like the Moth's fraile cell
1636, George Sandys, Paraphrase upon the Psalmes and upon the Hymnes dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe act of ruining something.
Similar
nounClipping of ruined orgasm
Similar
verbTo cause the fiscal ruin of; to bankrupt or drive out of business.
verbTo destroy or render something no longer usable or operable.
Similar
verbTo upset or overturn the plans or progress of, or to have a disastrous effect on something.
More synonyms by meaning
nounan irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
Similar
Broader
noundestruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinruīna“overthrow, ruin”
- Old Frenchruine
- Middle Englishruyne
- Englishruin
From Middle English ruyne, ruine, from Old French ruine, from Latin ruīna (“overthrow, ruin”), from ruō (“to fall down, tumble, sink in ruin, rush”).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἐρείπιον, λοιγός
- ἐρείπιον (ereípion)remains of destroyed construction
- λοιγός (loigós)the state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- φθείρω (phtheírō)to spoil
Arabic خَرَاب, خَرَابَة
- خَرَاب (ḵarāb)remains of destroyed construction
- خَرَابَة (ḵarāba)remains of destroyed construction
- طَلَل (ṭalal)remains of destroyed construction
- دَمَّرَ (dammara)to cause the economical ruin of
Bulgarian руи́на, разва́лина
- руи́на (ruína)remains of destroyed construction
- разва́лина (razválina)remains of destroyed construction
- разру́ха (razrúha)the state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- крах (krah)something which leads to serious troubles
- прова́л (provál)something which leads to serious troubles
- унищожа́вам (uništožávam)to cause the economical ruin of
- унищожа́ (uništožá)to cause the economical ruin of
- разоря́вам (razorjávam)to cause the economical ruin of
- разоря́ (razorjá)to cause the economical ruin of
- разруша́вам (razrušávam)to destroy
- разруша́ (razrušá)to destroy
- унищожа́вам (uništožávam)to destroy
- унищожа́ (uništožá)to destroy
- разва́лям (razváljam)to spoil
- разваля́ (razvaljá)to spoil
Catalan ruïna, arruïnar
- ruïnaremains of destroyed construction
- arruïnarto cause the economical ruin of
- espatllarto destroy
- arruïnarto destroy
Chinese Mandarin 遺址 /遗址, 廢墟 /废墟
- 遺址 /遗址 (yízhǐ)remains of destroyed construction
- 廢墟 /废墟 (fèixū)remains of destroyed construction
- 毀壞 /毁坏 (huǐhuài)the state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- 毀滅 /毁灭 (huǐmiè)the state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- 禍因 /祸因something which leads to serious troubles
- 破壞 /破坏 (pòhuài)to cause the economical ruin of
- 毀 /毁 (huǐ)to cause the economical ruin of
- 破壞 /破坏 (pòhuài)to destroy
Czech zřícenina, ruina
- zříceninaremains of destroyed construction
- ruinaremains of destroyed construction
- rozvalinaremains of destroyed construction
- ruinovatto cause the economical ruin of
- zruinovatto cause the economical ruin of
Danish ruin, ruinere
- ruinremains of destroyed construction
- ruinereto cause the economical ruin of
- ødelæggeto destroy
Dutch ruïne, bouwval
- ruïneremains of destroyed construction
- bouwvalremains of destroyed construction
- puinhoopremains of destroyed construction
- vervalthe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- puinthe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- ruïnerento cause the economical ruin of
Esperanto ruino
- ruinoremains of destroyed construction
Estonian vare, rikkuma
- vareremains of destroyed construction
- rikkumato spoil
Finnish raunio, rappio
- raunioremains of destroyed construction
- rappiothe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- turmiosomething which leads to serious troubles
- raunioittaato cause the economical ruin of
- tuhotato cause the economical ruin of
- tärvelläto cause the economical ruin of
- pilatato cause the economical ruin of
- raunioittaato destroy
- pilatato spoil
French ruine, ruine
- ruineremains of destroyed construction
- ruinethe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- ruinesomething which leads to serious troubles
- ruinerto cause the economical ruin of
- abîmerto destroy
- foutre en l'airto destroy
- ruinerto destroy
- massacrerto destroy
- gâcherto spoil
- foutre en l'airto spoil
- plomberto spoil
- ruinerto spoil
German Ruine, Ruin
- Ruineremains of destroyed construction
- Ruinthe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- Ruinsomething which leads to serious troubles
- ruinierento cause the economical ruin of
- auf die Knie zwingento cause the economical ruin of
- vernichtento cause the economical ruin of
- ruinierento destroy
- kaputtmachento destroy
- vernichtento destroy
- zerstörento destroy
- ruinierento spoil
- verderbento spoil
- kaputtmachento spoil
Greek ερείπιο, καταστρέφω
- ερείπιο (ereípio)remains of destroyed construction
- καταστρέφω (katastréfo)to cause the economical ruin of
- καταστρέφω (katastréfo)to destroy
Hebrew חׇרְבָּה, דָּפַק
- חׇרְבָּה (khorbá)remains of destroyed construction
- דָּפַק (dafák)to cause the economical ruin of
- פישלto cause the economical ruin of
- פִשֵּׁל (fishél)to cause the economical ruin of
- הָרַס (harás)to cause the economical ruin of
Hindi खँडहर, खंडहर
- खँडहर (khãḍhar)remains of destroyed construction
- खंडहर (khaṇḍhar)remains of destroyed construction
- भग्नावशेष (bhagnāvśeṣ)remains of destroyed construction
- विनाश (vināś)the state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- नाश (nāś)the state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- विनाश (vināś)something which leads to serious troubles
- नाश (nāś)something which leads to serious troubles
Hungarian rom, roncs
- romremains of destroyed construction
- roncsremains of destroyed construction
- omladékremains of destroyed construction
- romthe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- lerombolto cause the economical ruin of
- tönkreteszto cause the economical ruin of
- romba döntto cause the economical ruin of
Icelandic rúst
- rústremains of destroyed construction
Indonesian puing
- puingremains of destroyed construction
Irish ballóg, scrios
- ballógremains of destroyed construction
- scriosthe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- creachto cause the economical ruin of
Italian rovina, rovina
- rovinaremains of destroyed construction
- rovinathe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- rovinasomething which leads to serious troubles
- rovinareto destroy
Japanese 廃墟, 遺跡
- 廃墟 (haikyo)remains of destroyed construction
- 遺跡 (iseki)remains of destroyed construction
- 潰滅 (kaimetsu)the state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- 崩壊 (hōkai)the state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- 潰す (tsubusu)to cause the economical ruin of
- 滅ぼす (horobosu)to cause the economical ruin of
- 打倒する (datō suru)to cause the economical ruin of
- 破産させる (hasan saseru)to cause the economical ruin of
- 打ち壊す (buchikowasu)to destroy
- 破壊する (hakai suru)to destroy
- めちゃめちゃにする (mechamecha ni suru)to destroy
- 潰す (tsubusu)to spoil
- だめにする (dame ni suru)to spoil
- めちゃめちゃにする (mechamecha ni suru)to spoil
Korean 폐허, 유적
- 폐허 (pyeheo)remains of destroyed construction
- 유적 (yujeok)remains of destroyed construction
- 붕괴시키다 (bunggoesikida)to cause the economical ruin of
- 무너뜨리다 (muneotteurida)to cause the economical ruin of
Latin ruīna, ruīna
- ruīnaremains of destroyed construction
- ruīnathe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- populorto cause the economical ruin of
- populorto destroy
- ruīnōto destroy
Latvian drupas, graut
- drupasremains of destroyed construction
- grautto cause the economical ruin of
Lithuanian griuvėsiai, griauti
- griuvėsiairemains of destroyed construction
- griautito cause the economical ruin of
Malay puing, runtuhan
- puingremains of destroyed construction
- runtuhanremains of destroyed construction
Māori ruhatanga, ruhatanga
- ruhatangaremains of destroyed construction
- ruhatangathe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- whakapōharato cause the economical ruin of
- whakapakaruto destroy
Norwegian Bokmål ruin, ruin
- ruinremains of destroyed construction
- ruinthe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- ruinsomething which leads to serious troubles
Persian ویرانه, خراب
- ویرانه (virâne)remains of destroyed construction
- خراب (xarâb)remains of destroyed construction
- خرابه (xarâbe)remains of destroyed construction
Polish ruina, rujnować
- ruinaremains of destroyed construction
- rujnowaćto cause the economical ruin of
- zrujnowaćto cause the economical ruin of
Portuguese ruína, ruína
- ruínaremains of destroyed construction
- ruínathe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- ruínasomething which leads to serious troubles
- arruinarto cause the economical ruin of
- arruinarto destroy
- arruinarto spoil
- destruirto spoil
- acabar comto spoil
Punjabi ਖੰਡਰ, ਢਾਠ
- ਖੰਡਰ (khaṇḍar)remains of destroyed construction
- ਢਾਠ (ḍhāṭh)remains of destroyed construction
Romanian ruină, ruină
- ruinăremains of destroyed construction
- ruinăthe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- ruinăsomething which leads to serious troubles
- stricato cause the economical ruin of
Russian руи́на, разва́лина
- руи́на (ruína)remains of destroyed construction
- разва́лина (razválina)remains of destroyed construction
- разру́ха (razrúxa)the state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- крах (krax)something which leads to serious troubles
- круше́ние (krušénije)something which leads to serious troubles
- разоре́ние (razorénije)something which leads to serious troubles
- ги́бель (gíbelʹ)something which leads to serious troubles
- прова́л (provál)something which leads to serious troubles
- разруша́ть (razrušátʹ)to cause the economical ruin of
- разру́шить (razrúšitʹ)to cause the economical ruin of
- по́ртить (pórtitʹ)to cause the economical ruin of
- испо́ртить (ispórtitʹ)to cause the economical ruin of
- разоря́ть (razorjátʹ)to cause the economical ruin of
- разори́ть (razorítʹ)to cause the economical ruin of
- уничтожа́ть (uničtožátʹ)to destroy
- уничто́жить (uničtóžitʹ)to destroy
- разруша́ть (razrušátʹ)to destroy
- разру́шить (razrúšitʹ)to destroy
- по́ртить (pórtitʹ)to spoil
- испортить (isportitʹ)to spoil
Scottish Gaelic tobhta, creach
- tobhtaremains of destroyed construction
- creachthe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- creachsomething which leads to serious troubles
- creachto cause the economical ruin of
Slovak ruina, rozvalina
- ruinaremains of destroyed construction
- rozvalinaremains of destroyed construction
- ruinovaťto cause the economical ruin of
- zruinovaťto cause the economical ruin of
Spanish ruina, ruina
- ruinaremains of destroyed construction
- ruinathe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- ruinasomething which leads to serious troubles
- desbaratarto cause the economical ruin of
- arruinarto cause the economical ruin of
- ruinarto destroy
- arruinarto destroy
- estropearto destroy
- dar al trasteto spoil
Swahili gofu
- gofuremains of destroyed construction
Swedish ruin, ruin
- ruinremains of destroyed construction
- ruinthe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
- ödeläggato cause the economical ruin of
- ruinerato cause the economical ruin of
Tagalog gapo, bunlag
- gaporemains of destroyed construction
- bunlagremains of destroyed construction
- pagkagapothe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
Turkish kalıntı, harabe
- kalıntıremains of destroyed construction
- haraberemains of destroyed construction
- örenremains of destroyed construction
- yıkıntıremains of destroyed construction
- viraneremains of destroyed construction
- mahvetmekto cause the economical ruin of
- mahvetmekto destroy
- mahvetmekto spoil
Ukrainian руї́на, розва́лина
- руї́на (rujína)remains of destroyed construction
- розва́лина (rozvályna)remains of destroyed construction
- ни́щити (nýščyty)to cause the economical ruin of
- зни́щувати (znýščuvaty)to cause the economical ruin of
- зни́щити (znýščyty)to cause the economical ruin of
- руйнува́ти (rujnuváty)to cause the economical ruin of
- зруйнува́ти (zrujnuváty)to cause the economical ruin of
Urdu کَھنْڈَر, کَھنْڈَرَات
- کَھنْڈَر (khanḍar)remains of destroyed construction
- کَھنْڈَرَات (khanḍarāt)remains of destroyed construction
- خَرَابَہ (xarāba)remains of destroyed construction
- وِیرانَہ (vīrāna)remains of destroyed construction
Vietnamese hư hại
- hư hạithe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
Welsh adfail, adfeiliad
- adfailremains of destroyed construction
- adfeiliadthe state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with ruin
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
ruin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ruin
MLA
“ruin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ruin. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ruin,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ruin.
Source: ruin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.