ruinous

adjective

ru·​in·​ous ˈrü-ə-nəs How to pronounce ruinous (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Much as Israel’s efforts to eliminate Hamas have been ruinous for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, Israel appears to be conducting its operations in Lebanon with little concern for the harm to civilian populations or infrastructure. Mohanad Hage Ali, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2024 Hamilton’s ruinous reign in the early 2000s had almost left the club homeless. Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 16 Aug. 2024 So bad his preference for ruinous eternal companions was a primary source of dramatic tension in Interview With the Vampire’s bold second season, featuring Assad Zaman’s Armand, a bad boyfriend for the ages. Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 2 July 2024 The financial domain could be monetarily ruinous to someone. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ruinous 

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ruinous was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near ruinous

Cite this Entry

“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruinous. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

ruinous

adjective
ru·​in·​ous ˈrü-ə-nəs How to pronounce ruinous (audio)
: causing or tending to cause ruin : destructive
ruinously adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on ruinous

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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