I. ˈrü]ə̇n, ˈru̇] also ]ˌin, dial ˈrərn noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English ruine, from Middle French, from Latin ruina; akin to Latin ruere to rush, fall — more at rug
1.
a. archaic : a falling down especially of a building : collapse
b. : the decay or fall of an individual or a group : physical, moral, economic, or social collapse
bankruptcy, dishonor, and ruin were now his lot
2.
a. archaic : the condition of something that has collapsed : a state of destruction or abjectness
b. : the remains of something that has been destroyed : decayed or broken fragments — usually used in plural
went back to the ruins of their city — Weston La Barre
3. : a cause or agent of destruction : destroyer , wrecker
this carelessness … was to be his ruin — Mary A. Hamilton
drink was his ruin
4.
a. : the destruction, laying waste, or wrecking of something : devastation , overthrow
ruin can make a hideous modern building seem beautiful — Stephen Spender
the ruin of modern drama — T.S.Eliot
risked … his own political ruin — C.H.Sykes
b. : damage , injury , impairment
the ruin of misspent years cannot be quickly undone
5. : the moral or social downfall of a woman (as by vice or seduction)
a daughter's ruin unhinged the old man's mind
6. : a building, person, or other object that has tumbled down or fallen into decay
a ruin that was now a home of bats and lizards
should write the biography of this shambling ruin — Lee Rogow
II. verb
( ruined -nd, dial -nt\ ; ruined ; ruining ; ruins )
Etymology: Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French ruiner to ruin, from Medieval Latin ruinare, from Latin ruina ruin
transitive verb
1.
a. : to lay waste : reduce to wreckage : devastate , overthrow
ruined temple
ruined city
the ruined land
b. obsolete : to root out or lay low
2.
a. : to damage or destroy irredeemably : inflict irreparable injury on
rain had ruined her hat
crops ruined by hail
a car ruined in a smashup
in danger of being ruined by prosperity
b. : to overthrow the fortunes of : bring to financial ruin : bankrupt , impoverish
was ruined during the great crash
had been ruined by speculation
c. : to bring (a woman) to degradation or dishonor
3. : to subject to entire frustration, failure, or disaster
ruined hopes
an illness that ruined his chances of promotion
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to crash down : fall headlong to destruction
b. : to become decayed or dilapidated
2. : to come to moral, financial, or social ruin : be impoverished, degraded, or dishonored
Synonyms: see destroy