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: causing or tending to cause ruin
ruinously
adverb
ruinousness
noun
Synonyms
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
The cottage, part of a ruinous village halfway up a hill, would become both a sanctuary and a place of inspiration.
—
Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 5 Aug. 2024
Sudan is in the grips of more than 15 months of ruinous civil strife that’s led to untold calamity and horror.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 29 July 2024
But together the three wives managed to hatch out a pack of boys, the Kennedy Third Gen, whom Callahan depicts as morally and intellectually attenuated, coddled, entitled, reckless and as ruinous to women as their fathers and grandfather.
—Nina Burleigh, Washington Post, 10 July 2024
Instead, Asian and European countries must come together to forge more nuanced and calibrated approaches that won’t stoke further conflict—or put the region in an impossible, and potentially ruinous, position.
—Mathieu Droin, Foreign Affairs, 8 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for ruinous 
Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 5 Aug. 2024
Sudan is in the grips of more than 15 months of ruinous civil strife that’s led to untold calamity and horror.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 29 July 2024
But together the three wives managed to hatch out a pack of boys, the Kennedy Third Gen, whom Callahan depicts as morally and intellectually attenuated, coddled, entitled, reckless and as ruinous to women as their fathers and grandfather.
—Nina Burleigh, Washington Post, 10 July 2024
Instead, Asian and European countries must come together to forge more nuanced and calibrated approaches that won’t stoke further conflict—or put the region in an impossible, and potentially ruinous, position.
—Mathieu Droin, Foreign Affairs, 8 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for ruinous
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.
Dictionary Entries Near ruinous
Cite this Entry
“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruinous. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ruinous
adjective
ru·in·ous
ˈrü-ə-nəs 
: causing or tending to cause ruin : destructive
ruinously
adverb
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