How to Use ruin in a Sentence

ruin

1 of 2 verb
  • The scandal ruined the mayor.
  • The bad weather ruined the party.
  • I ruined the sauce by adding too much garlic.
  • He was ruined by debt.
  • His low test scores ruined his chances of getting into a good school.
  • Poor customer service ruined the company's reputation.
  • That is why the crowds do not ruin it.
    — David Nikel, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
  • Here is a movie that will ruin your day.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
  • One drop of red dye ruins the whole thing.
    — Charles Trepany, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2026
  • The night was ruined by her boyfriend's bad mood.
    — Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
  • The art-style change didn’t have to ruin a good thing.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 16 June 2026
  • Again, don't wring the suit, which ruins the shape.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 9 June 2026
  • Then don’t ruin him, Cali said.
    — Bryan Washington, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Cops say the $89 pair of boots were ruined.
    — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 1 Mar. 2026
  • Cops say the $89 pair of boots were ruined.
    — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Cops say the $89 pair of boots were ruined.
    — Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
  • The wrong shoes will ruin things in a second.
    — Alex Sales, Glamour, 27 Mar. 2026
  • This will either change your life or ruin you.
    — Outside Online, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Nothing ruins a cozy night in faster than cold toes!
    — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 30 May 2026
  • The girl in that story had her life ruined two decades ago.
    — Amy Wallace, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
  • Structure does not have to ruin the spark.
    — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 June 2026
  • Only here to ruin your good time.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 11 June 2026
  • The bare ground can ruin the clothing.
    — Literary Hub, 17 June 2026
  • Will this dry cleaner ruin my clothes?
    — Sophie Spiegelberger, New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Frankly, this ruined my birthday for me for the next forty years.
    — Gaby Iori january 27, Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
  • One blemish doesn’t ruin all of that.
    — Paul Newman, New York Times, 23 June 2026
  • Ticks don’t have to ruin your summer.
    — Molly Burford, Southern Living, 2 June 2026
  • He's already ruined a pair of my high heels and at least three rugs.
    — Breanne L. Heldman, PEOPLE, 13 June 2026
  • Yeah, my evening was ruined, but the season wasn’t.
    — Will Brantley, Outdoor Life, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Just ruin the friendship, take the risk.
    — Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 18 May 2026

ruin

2 of 2 noun
  • The castle is now a ruin.
  • The abandoned town had gone to ruin.
  • Her drug addiction brought her to the brink of ruin.
  • The incident led to the ruin of their relationship.
  • Don't let the house your grandfather built fall into ruin.
  • The drought brought economic ruin to local farmers.
  • Caruso said the ruins should be torn down.
    — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
  • There was no shame in shedding a few tears at ancient ruins.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 26 May 2026
  • The ruins of the theater have long since been carted away.
    — James Verini, The Atlantic, 12 May 2026
  • Tens of thousands have been killed, and much of Gaza laid to ruin.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Red foxes dart across the roads while eagles glide above the ruins.
    — Jane Arraf, NPR, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Smoke could be seen rising from the ruins, with homes and cars destroyed.
    — Christopher Harris, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Gaza’s economy has been buried in the ruins.
    — Kara Fox, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The exit from the halftime locker room no longer a road to ruin.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2026
  • For some of us, Athens has always been more than ruins and retsina.
    — Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Mak’s wife, Kit Chan, 74, likened their home to ruins.
    — Kanis Leung, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
  • Our businesses have shuttered or are on the brink of ruin.
    — Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
  • And in the end, what saves George from financial ruin?
    — Margaret Heidenry, Vanity Fair, 24 Dec. 2025
  • Many are just a crisis or two away from financial ruin.
    — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Swim in a secluded bay, check out ruins, and wander olive groves.
    — AFAR Media, 26 Sep. 2025
  • These ruins used to be our lives, our carpets, food and everything.
    — Anna Coren, CNN, 14 Oct. 2023
  • Aerial footage shows vast stretches of land with nothing but ruins.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2025
  • The city still lay in ruin, filled with piles of rubble and half-destroyed buildings.
    — Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2026
  • South Korea has built one of the richest economies in the world from the ruins of the war.
    — Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 27 July 2023
  • By 1944, when much of the city lay in ruins, the terror spread.
    — The Week Us, TheWeek, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Re-blockade will now happen at bandit camps and ruins.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
  • Other city workers soon joined and, from that point on, Kharkiv didn’t let ruins linger.
    — Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2023
  • Amir, a 20-year-old barista, wasn’t letting thoughts of the future ruin his mood now.
    — Ramin Mostaghim, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
  • The ruins of one of what was once the northernmost bishopric sat nearby.
    — Tim Neville, Outside, 23 Jan. 2026
  • After three days of living like this, everyone knows the way around the ruins.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 12 Sep. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ruin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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