1
2
: causing or tending to cause ruin
ruinously
adverb
ruinousness
noun
Examples of ruinous in a Sentence
The house has fallen into a ruinous state.
a ruinous miscalculation of the financial markets left them bankrupt
Recent Examples on the Web
These people are ridiculous; these people are ruinous.
—
Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026
In underwriting the loss can run to many times the premium, so a model that is right 95% of the time but wildly overconfident the rest can still be ruinous if its failures bunch together in the wrong place.
—Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
The controversial relationship likely proved ruinous for Gates’ relationship with his now ex wife.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 11 June 2026
Cassie took to OnlyFans, mostly for her own validation but partly to bail her now-husband Nate (Jacob Elordi) out of ruinous debt — reuniting her with her estranged best friend Maddy (Alexa Demie), now a talent manager.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
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Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026
In underwriting the loss can run to many times the premium, so a model that is right 95% of the time but wildly overconfident the rest can still be ruinous if its failures bunch together in the wrong place.
—Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
The controversial relationship likely proved ruinous for Gates’ relationship with his now ex wife.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 11 June 2026
Cassie took to OnlyFans, mostly for her own validation but partly to bail her now-husband Nate (Jacob Elordi) out of ruinous debt — reuniting her with her estranged best friend Maddy (Alexa Demie), now a talent manager.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Cite this Entry
“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruinous. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ruinous
adjective
ru·in·ous
ˈrü-ə-nəs 
: causing or tending to cause ruin : destructive
ruinously
adverb
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