to ruin

Examples

• All

• He's going to ruin my life!

  Tina and Lori (2021)

• My shirt is ruined!

  So Undercover (2012)

• Think ahead and recognize that I can almost guarantee that they will ruin your night.

• Now because of you we're ruined!

  Madagascar (2005)

• When I denied this, they upgraded the charges: I was ruining their lives.

  Academic text (2007)

• Just then, I stood in the doorway of a ruined stone castle.

  Academic text (2001)

• The anchorman is standing in front of the ruined pier and boats.

  Fiction book (1994)

• Half a row of lettuce was ruined; the plants were stunted and damaged.

  Fiction book (1993)

• If the heavy rains continue, the old bridge will ruin from the constant exposure to water.

• Without maintenance, that abandoned house is likely to ruin in just a few years.

Synonyms

D

to decay

vsto ruin

29 4.4

To slowly fall into ruin because of age or neglect

is the general process of becoming destroyed or unusable

R

to rot away

vsto ruin

17 4.2

To slowly become weaker or fall apart because it is not cared for

is about falling into destruction without stressing the slow wasting

T

to turn to dust

vsto ruin

14 6.6

To be completely ruined and lose all value

is about entering decay or disrepair rather than total disappearance

G

to go to seed

vsto ruin

• Informal

4 7.3

To become untidy and overgrown and lose quality

is wider, covering true structural destruction not only neglect or mess

D

to dilapidate

vsto ruin

1 8.4

To fall into ruin or cause something to fall into ruin because it is not cared for

is becoming damaged and broken down without naming a cause

Antonyms

F

to flourish

113 4.1

To grow strongly and be healthy or successful

P

to prosper

85 3.7

To become successful or grow well, often by making money

R

to revive

66 4.1

To make a person conscious again after fainting

Idioms

R

rack and ruin

1 7.4

A building or place that has fallen into bad condition

Phrasal Verbs

R

to ruin the mood

• Informal

2 4.1

Make people feel less happy in a situation

Compounds

W

wrack and ruin

• Archaic

1 7.8

A state when something is very broken and falling apart

A

Atlantean ruin

• Literature

9.9

Ruins believed to be from the famous lost city of Atlantis that often lie under the sea

L

leprous ruin

• Literature

9.9

An old building that is falling apart with crumbling stones and a sick look

How Dilapidated

to collapse

645 3.9

to ruin

1 3.5

to decay

29 4.4

to deteriorate

130 5.9

to wear

159 3.3

to age

169 1.0

Surface Forms

Etymology