1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a ruinous miscalculation of the financial markets left them bankrupt
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2
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction
a ruinous windstorm destroyed the crops
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ruinous
There are more lecture tours, and ruinous business adventures — the financial writer in Chernow is more at ease with this material.
—
Dwight Garner, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Its timelines collapse and blur, and its characters are bound by ruinous, inescapable fates; the reader cannot avoid disorientation.
—Marion Renault, The Atlantic, 13 May 2025
This would give Trump a partial win, avoid hurting his base and prevent ruinous cuts to Medicaid.
—Arthur L. Kellermann, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
The share of seniors will more than double in most countries by midcentury, pushing support ratios (the number of workers per retiree) to ruinous levels; China’s, for example, will fall from ten to one in 2000 to under two to one by 2050.
—Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Dwight Garner, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Its timelines collapse and blur, and its characters are bound by ruinous, inescapable fates; the reader cannot avoid disorientation.
—Marion Renault, The Atlantic, 13 May 2025
This would give Trump a partial win, avoid hurting his base and prevent ruinous cuts to Medicaid.
—Arthur L. Kellermann, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
The share of seniors will more than double in most countries by midcentury, pushing support ratios (the number of workers per retiree) to ruinous levels; China’s, for example, will fall from ten to one in 2000 to under two to one by 2050.
—Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruinous
Adjective
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Though Rivera was strong on balance beam and floor, posting the highest mark on beam and the third-best on floor, a disastrous bar routine took the Olympian out of the gold medal race.—
Caroline Price,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2025
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Both Israel and Iran have nuclear capabilities, which means that any escalation in fighting could have disastrous consequences for the international community.—
Theo Burman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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Day laborers have been crucial to rebuilding efforts after Los Angeles County’s devastating January firestorms.—
Kaitlyn Huamani,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
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The most devastating feedback came from a founder Landau idolized.—
Megan Bruneau,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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Selling bitcoin volatility into a bull market could prove fatal.—
Alexander S. Blume,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
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Here's what to know about the rare, but often fatal, disease.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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Decades later, Iraqis still did not have 24-hour electricity due to that brief but intensely destructive air campaign.—
Paul Iddon,
Forbes.com,
15 June 2025
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When a rocket releases a satellite in this type of high-energy orbit, the upper stage has usually burned almost all of its propellant, leaving little fuel to steer itself back into Earth's atmosphere for a destructive reentry.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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An unfortunate series of events in the eighth inning led to the Brewers going up 3-1.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 June 2025
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The polished old pro bent time and space, keeping the unfortunate new work to a minimum and running through his hits, reliving, nearly chronologically, the thrill of experiencing his catalog all over again at a speed run.—
Abe Beame,
Rolling Stone,
7 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruinous. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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