ruining

verb

present participle of ruin
1
as in bankrupting
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

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2
as in destroying
to bring destruction to (something) through violent action tornadoes ruined a wide swath of the county

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in wrecking
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of a huge fire that ruined an entire city block

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ruining As wet electrodes get thicker, the liquid binder migrates unevenly during drying, ruining the battery‘s structure. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026 Seaver also allegedly threatened to start a podcast dedicated to ruining Parton’s image unless he was paid. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 28 Sep. 2026 Even if your appliance feels cool to the touch, warm air rises and can make the top slightly warmer, slowly cooking the wine and ruining the flavor. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2026 And Hollywood really should stop ruining good shows trying to chase that approval. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026 The near-miss is one of the more potent and consequential instances of a hallucinating AI ruining the reliability of a professional report. — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 18 Sep. 2026 The scourge of Steve Spurrier Spurrier took too many verbal jabs to list here and took special glee in beating the Dawgs, never forgiving them for beating his Florida Gators in his 1966 senior season, ruining their SEC championship hopes. — The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026 Museum putty or wax can help keep pieces in place without ruining either the tray or your collectibles. — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Sep. 2026 As fishermen wrestled their catches out of flimsy fiberglass boats near a makeshift shoreside market recently, several stopped to talk with CNN, complaining that the war is ruining business. — Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruining
  1. bankrupting
  2. destroying
  3. wrecking
  4. ravaging
  5. demolishing
  6. devastating
  7. shattering
Verb
  • College sports simply can’t exist in its present form without bankrupting our colleges and universities.
    — Bruce Svare, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • At a June forum for county executive candidates, former Legislator Dan Tarwater said the lawsuit could cost up to $1 billion in payouts, potentially bankrupting Jackson County.
    — Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of bankrupting
Verb
  • One crab can eat more than 40 juvenile soft-shell clams in a day, while also destroying seagrass habitats.
    — Victoria Malloy, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • And then a seven-hour-long GRB came along—acting like a Death Star whose planet-destroying beam refused to switch off—that defied all explanation.
    — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick crossed the line while wrecking after Larson hit the wall trying to chase down Briscoe on the final turn.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Her first job as CEO in 2014 was to remake the century-old company’s corporate culture and regain customers’ trust following a tragic, reputation-wrecking ignition-switch crisis.
    — Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of wrecking
Verb
  • For weeks an autoimmune disease doctors couldn’t explain had been attacking his thyroid and ravaging his intestines.
    — Joe Manganiello, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Across the country, climate change is ravaging ecosystems, bringing more robust storms, rising sea levels, record-setting conflagrations and fatal heat waves.
    — Jennifer Oldham, Denver Post, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of ravaging
Verb
  • The district selected a redevelopment proposal this year that would include demolishing the school and building single-family homes.
    — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The 18-year-old female elephant got loose from her handler outside her enclosure, then went on the run, demolishing the door of a saloon on North Avenue, smashing in the window of another and walking through the fence around a vacant lot.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of demolishing
Verb
  • Overall, climate change is weakening the winds — but won’t save SoCal from devastating fires.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The region has already been saturated by heavy rain over the past months, and regions like New Mexico and Grand Canyon were hit by devastating floods earlier this month.
    — Megan Janetsky, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of devastating
Verb
  • You’re always getting blindsided by massive, earth-shattering events.
    — Adam B. Vary, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The only trace left of a content shoot earlier in the day is a smidge of smokey eye makeup, while a pair of black, ankle-shattering Jimmy Choo stilettos have been replaced with khaki trainers.
    — Sophie Williams, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of shattering

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Cite this Entry

“Ruining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruining. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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