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 Tanzania had also fought a ruinous war with neighboring Uganda that toppled the dictator Idi Amin but deepened its own economic decline. Alan Cowell, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 Ignore the presidential campaign and the upcoming criminal trial; Trump’s ruinous financial bind has to be his biggest concern at this moment. Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 28 Feb. 2024 According to an analysis by legal writer Mark Joseph Stern in Slate, this ruling means that if someone happens to accidentally damage or destroy an embryo, IVF providers could face a wrongful death suit and millions of dollars in punitive damages, which would be ruinous. Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 23 Feb. 2024 The list of local breweries whose ambitions led to ruinous debt is sobering: Stone, Ballast Point, Green Flash, Modern Times and others. Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2024 For most studios, these expenditures would be ruinous at a time when hardly any movie is earning enough money to justify that kind of budget. Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 5 Feb. 2024 But in the wake of Oct. 7 and the ruinous Israel-Hamas war, the need for a lasting solution is on the front burner. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024 Otto von Bismarck likewise spent the years from 1872 to 1890 promoting multilateral diplomatic systems for avoiding the ruinous rivalries that would reemerge in Europe after his fall from power. Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 6 Feb. 2024 More recently, Polestar reshuffled two key C-suite positions and posted disappointing Q4 volumes amid a ruinous price war unleashed by Tesla. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 24 Jan. 2024

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

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 29 Mar. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!