Synonyms of ruins

ruins 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of ruin

1

as in bankrupts

to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts

after he was ruined by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the industrialist was forced to sell his mansion and start all over again

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bankrupts
• busts
• breaks
• reduces
• impoverishes
• beggars
• wipes out
• pauperizes
• cleans (out)
• straitens

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• enriches
• richens

2

as in ravages

to bring destruction to (something) through violent action

tornadoes ruined a wide swath of the county

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ravages
• destroys
• devastates
• wrecks
• scourges
• plunders
• despoils
• desolates
• shatters
• overwhelms
• obliterates
• loots
• pillages
• sacks
• wipes out
• vaporizes
• annihilates
• eradicates
• strips
• wastes
• wracks
• forays
• demolishes
• decimates
• expunges
• extirpates
• harries
• extinguishes
• nukes
• marauds
• smashes
• totals
• razes
• rubs out
• mows
• overthrows
• overruns
• overpowers
• crushes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restores
• recovers
• redeems
• repairs
• rehabilitates
• fixes
• reconditions
• mends
• patches
• revamps

3

as in destroys

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of

a huge fire that ruined an entire city block

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroys
• wrecks
• demolishes
• shatters
• devastates
• smashes
• damages
• wastes
• ravages
• overcomes
• erodes
• desolates
• annihilates
• decimates
• razes
• mars
• vaporizes
• extinguishes
• wracks
• cripples
• pulverizes
• tears down
• pulls down
• nukes
• totals
• kills
• rubs out
• crushes
• defeats
• dismantles
• breaks
• does in
• injures
• creams
• blasts
• spoils
• removes
• masters
• subdues
• conquers
• disfigures
• disintegrates
• prevails (over)
• deteriorates
• harms
• wins (against)
• impairs
• overbears
• triumphs (over)
• licks
• dissolves
• surmounts
• defaces
• routs
• mutilates
• bests
• dynamites
• obliterates
• vitiates
• sweeps (away)
• clobbers
• trims
• despoils
• mangles
• eradicates
• overmatches
• scours
• trounces
• guts
• unmakes
• thrashes
• washes out
• vandalizes
• exterminates
• blows up
• wipes out
• plunders
• stamps (out)
• undoes
• beats
• slaughters
• murders
• loots
• effaces
• wears (away)
• whips
• scotches
• assassinates
• wallops
• extirpates
• expunges
• takes down
• roots (out)
• pillages
• tramples
• disassembles
• sacks
• blots out
• cuts down
• liquidates
• slays
• trashes
• unbuilds
• kills off
• dilapidates
• drubs
• massacres
• snuffs (out)
• mows (down)
• takes out
• dispatches
• fells
• zaps
• executes
• skunks
• havocs
• butchers

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• builds
• constructs
• repairs
• raises
• doctors
• sets up
• creates
• erects
• rears
• fixes
• forms
• manufactures
• produces
• makes
• shapes
• fathers
• constitutes
• puts up
• invents
• institutes
• protects
• establishes
• preserves
• frames
• fashions
• assembles
• founds
• patches
• mends
• brings about
• saves
• reconditions
• organizes
• revamps
• restores
• conserves
• forges
• molds
• reconstructs
• fabricates
• rebuilds
• renovates
• remodels

ruins

2 of 2

noun

plural of ruin

as in rubble

the portion or bits of something left over or behind after it has been destroyed

the ruins of an abandoned abbey

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rubble
• debris
• wreckage
• remains
• remnant
• ashes
• wreck
• detritus
• residue
• flotsam
• dust
• garbage
• junk
• leavings
• litter
• rubbish
• trash
• refuse
• jetsam
• scrap
• chaff
• waste
• dross
• deadwood
• riffraff

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ruins

Verb

On Bolivia’s Isla del Sol, simple guesthouses and boutique hotels overlook Incan ruins and the seemingly endless blue water. —Carla Vianna, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Apr. 2026

Nothing ruins a cute skirt moment faster than thigh chafing. —Michelle Rostamian, PEOPLE, 26 Apr. 2026

English ivy ruins paint jobs, encourages wood rot, and damages stucco and the mortar between bricks. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 20 Apr. 2026

Jeff then immediately ruins the stakes-building tension by launching into an interminable Applebee’s ad. —Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2026

One drop of red dye ruins the whole thing. —Charles Trepany, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2026

And as per usual, a man ruins everything. —Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 19 Mar. 2026

Eventually, extensive bombing and the Soviet army reduced the Königsberg Castle to ruins, and the original Amber Room was never recovered. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Mar. 2026

In games that matter, one bad inning — one weak link on the chain — ruins a whole game. —Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026

Noun

Other people are giving up on remote Nyatim and going home to ruins. —ABC News, 28 Apr. 2026

There are ancient ruins hidden among the peaks of Colombia, and floating islands on Peru’s most sacred lake. —Carla Vianna, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Apr. 2026

The bodies of four people were found in the ruins of a house destroyed in overnight attacks, said Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha. —Elise Morton, Arkansas Online, 26 Apr. 2026

The bodies of four people were found in the ruins of a house destroyed in overnight attacks, Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said. —Elise Morton, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026

That has left the vast majority of Gaza’s more than 2 million people confined to sprawling tent camps or the ruins of their homes, with no end in sight to their suffering. —Sam Metz, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026

Villages give way to vast, tranquil lakes and towering falls, and archeological ruins hint at the lore still shared among locals. —Andrea Bussell, Travel + Leisure, 24 Apr. 2026

Drone video shows the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil in ruins following the Israel Defense Force's strikes on the area. —Will Clark, NBC news, 20 Apr. 2026

Her family stays on beside the ruins, and the film charts how occupation and its aftermath become the unremarkable background of her adolescence. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026