1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a ruinous miscalculation of the financial markets left them bankrupt
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction
a ruinous windstorm destroyed the crops
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ruinous
Now, in a ruinous turnaround, the city has decided that, when updating community plans, adequate infrastructure doesn’t matter anymore.
—
Nico Calavita, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
Arthur inherited his father’s alcoholism and propensity for violence, with such ruinous results that he was eventually institutionalized as well.
—Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
And if the hypotheticals are not enough to dissuade, history is littered with teams trading away their future for immediate glories, seeing their plans implode, and being left with a ruinous future that becomes a hopeless present while another team reaps the benefits.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 30 Jan. 2026
Dinner might have been ruined, but this certainly was not any sort of ruinous trade for either team.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Nico Calavita, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
Arthur inherited his father’s alcoholism and propensity for violence, with such ruinous results that he was eventually institutionalized as well.
—Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
And if the hypotheticals are not enough to dissuade, history is littered with teams trading away their future for immediate glories, seeing their plans implode, and being left with a ruinous future that becomes a hopeless present while another team reaps the benefits.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 30 Jan. 2026
Dinner might have been ruined, but this certainly was not any sort of ruinous trade for either team.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruinous
Adjective
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Trailing by three after a disastrous first period, the Sharks got goals from Nick Leddy and Macklin Celebrini in the second period, and a nifty third-period goal from Alex Wennberg to tie the game and bring the capacity crowd at SAP Center to life.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
5 Apr. 2026
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The regular sight of US citizens paraded in Iran was disastrous for former President Jimmy Carter.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Just days later, Duke suffered a devastating loss with a Final Four berth on the line.—
Cole Sullivan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
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The Pentagon is reportedly preparing for weeks of ground operations inside Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal, including a potentially devastating and dangerous mission to excavate uranium from the country.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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That is the highest-level designation for severe accidents, placing it alongside the fatal Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003) shuttle disasters in terms of gravity.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
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The cause of that fatal accident remains under investigation.—
Anna McAllister,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The team’s approach effectively enabled non-destructive quality control.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Apr. 2026
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Indonesia’s meteorological agency lifted its tsunami warning hours after the quake, and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said there was no destructive threat to the country, which is north of the quake’s epicenter.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The Russian ambassador to Libya hung out in my room, as did a Russian kid named Konstantin with an unfortunate stutter and endearing affection for the American rock band Metallica.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
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The film is a Hulu release, continuing the rather unfortunate trend of comedy no longer being the box office powerhouse it once was.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Much like with the newspaper industry, the internet has had a similar impact on radio stations, just not quite as catastrophic.—
Mac Engel
April 2,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Apr. 2026
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Most notably — and most devastatingly — Woods was involved in a one-car rollover crash in Los Angeles in February 2021, which left him with catastrophic leg injuries.—
Megan Armstrong,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruinous. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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