ruin
[ roo-in ]
/ ˈru ɪn /
noun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
to fall into ruins; fall to pieces.
to come to ruin.
Origin of ruin
1325–75; (noun) Middle English
ruine < Middle French < Latin
ruīna headlong rush, fall, collapse, equivalent to
ru(ere) to fall +
-īna
-ine2; (v.) (< Middle French
ruiner) < Medieval Latin
ruīnāre, derivative of Latin
ruīna
SYNONYMS FOR ruin
3
Ruin,
destruction,
havoc imply irrevocable and often widespread damage.
Destruction may be on a large or small scale (
destruction of tissue, of enemy vessels ); it emphasizes particularly the act of destroying, while
ruin and
havoc emphasize the resultant state.
Ruin, from the verb meaning to fall to pieces, suggests a state of decay or disintegration (or an object in that state) that is apt to be more the result of the natural processes of time and change than of sudden violent activity from without:
The house has fallen to ruins. Only in its figurative application is it apt to suggest the result of destruction from without:
the ruin of her hopes.
Havoc, originally a cry that served as the signal for pillaging, has changed its reference from that of spoliation to devastation, being used particularly of the destruction following in the wake of natural calamities:
the havoc wrought by flood and pestilence. Today it is used figuratively to refer to the destruction of hopes and plans:
This sudden turn of events played havoc with her carefully laid designs.
4 fall, overthrow, defeat, wreck.
10 demolish, destroy, damage. See
spoil.
OTHER WORDS FROM ruin
Words nearby ruin
rugula,
rugulose,
ruhmkorff coil,
ruhr,
ruhr valley,
ruin,
ruinate,
ruination,
ruinous,
ruisdael,
rukeyser
Example sentences from the Web for ruins
British Dictionary definitions for ruins
ruin
/ (ˈruːɪn) /
noun
verb
Derived forms of ruin
ruinable, adjective ruiner, nounWord Origin for ruin
C14: from Old French
ruine, from Latin
ruīna a falling down, from
ruere to fall violently
Idioms and Phrases with ruins
ruin
see rack and ruin.