ruin
English
![](Images/wiktionary/Ruins_at_Delfi.JPG.webp)
Etymology
From Middle English ruyne, ruine, from Old French ruine, from Latin ruīna (“overthrow, ruin”), from ruō (“I fall down, tumble, sink in ruin, rush”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɹuː.ɪn/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -uːɪn
Noun
ruin (countable and uncountable, plural ruins)
- (countable, sometimes in the plural) The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle.
- 1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 1051505315:
- The Veian and the Gabian towirs shall fall, / And one promiscuous ruin cover all; / Nor, after length of years, a stone betray / The place where once the very ruins lay.
- a. 1812, Joseph Stevens Buckminster, sermon:
- The labour of a day will not build up a virtuous habit on the ruins of an old and vicious character.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess:
- A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.
- 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, OCLC 246633669, PC, scene: Eden Prime:
- Dr. Manuel: No one is saved. The age of humanity is ended. Soon, only ruin and corpses will remain.
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- (uncountable) The state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed.
- The monastery has fallen into ruin.
- (uncountable) Something that leads to serious trouble or destruction.
- Gambling has been the ruin of many.
- 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Youth and Age”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, OCLC 863521290:
- The errors of young men are the ruin of business.
- 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart; Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, OCLC 20230794, page 01:
- The Bat—they called him the Bat. […]. He […] played a lone hand, […]. Most lone wolves had a moll at any rate—women were their ruin—but if the Bat had a moll, not even the grapevine telegraph could locate her.
- The act of ruining something.
- (obsolete) A fall or tumble.
- [1611?], Homer, “(please specify |book=I to XXIV)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter, OCLC 614803194; The Iliads of Homer, Prince of Poets, […], volume (please specify the book number), new edition, London: Charles Knight and Co., […], 1843, OCLC 987451361:
- His ruin startled th' other steeds.
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- A change that destroys or defeats something; destruction; overthrow.
- the ruin of a ship or an army; the ruin of a constitution or a government; the ruin of health or hopes
- 1768, Thomas Gray, The Bard:
- Ruin seize thee, ruthless king!
- (uncountable) Complete financial loss; bankruptcy.
Translations
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Verb
ruin (third-person singular simple present ruins, present participle ruining, simple past and past participle ruined or (dialectal, nonstandard) ruint)
- (transitive) To cause the fiscal ruin of; to bankrupt or drive out of business.
- With all these purchases, you surely mean to ruin us!
- 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, OCLC 702939134:
- In one way, indeed, he bade fair to ruin us; for he kept on staying week after week, and at last month after month, so that all the money had been long exhausted...
- To destroy or make something no longer usable.
- He ruined his new white slacks by accidentally spilling oil on them.
- 1857, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Golden Mile-Stone
- By the fireside there are old men seated, / Seeing ruined cities in the ashes.
- To upset or overturn the plans or progress of, or to have a disastrous effect on something.
- My car breaking down just as I was on the road ruined my vacation.
- To make something less enjoyable or likeable.
- I used to love that song, but being assaulted when that song was playing ruined the song for me.
- To reveal the ending of (a story); to spoil.
- (obsolete) To fall into a state of decay.
- 1636, George Sandys, Paraphrase upon the Psalmes and upon the Hymnes dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments
- Though he his house of polisht marble build, / Yet shall it ruine like the Moth's fraile cell
- 1636, George Sandys, Paraphrase upon the Psalmes and upon the Hymnes dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments
- (transitive, historical) To seduce or debauch, and thus harm the social standing of.
- The young libertine was notorious for ruining local girls.
Synonyms
- destroy
- fordo
- ruinate
- wreck
- See also Thesaurus:spoil
Antonyms
- build
- construct
- found
- produce
Related terms
- ruination
- ruinable
- ruiner
- ruinous
- ruint
Translations
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Further reading
- ruin in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- ruin in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- ruin at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams
- Irun
Asturian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈrwin/, [ˈrwĩŋ]
Adjective
ruin m sg (feminine singular ruina, neuter singular ruino, masculine plural ruinos, feminine plural ruines)
- weedy
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch rûun. Cognate with Middle Low German rûne, Middle High German rūn. Further origin unknown; possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(H)rewH- (“to dig out, rip off”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /rœy̯n/
audio (file) - Hyphenation: ruin
- Rhymes: -œy̯n
Noun
ruin m (plural ruinen, diminutive ruintje n)
- gelding (castrated male horse)
Derived terms
- vosruin
See also
- hengst
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Latin ruina.
Noun
ruin m (definite singular ruinen, indefinite plural ruiner, definite plural ruinene)
- ruin (often in plural form when referring to buildings)
References
- “ruin” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Latin ruina.
Noun
ruin m (definite singular ruinen, indefinite plural ruinar, definite plural ruinane)
- ruin (often in plural form when referring to buildings)
References
- “ruin” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Spanish
Etymology
From an earlier *ruino, from ruina, or from a Vulgar Latin root *ruīnus, ultimately from Latin ruīna. Compare Portuguese ruim, Catalan roí. The lack of a final /-o/ may suggest a borrowing.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈrwin/ [ˈrwĩn]
- Rhymes: -in
- Syllabification: ruin
Adjective
ruin (plural ruines)
- contemptible, mean, heartless
- Synonyms: vil, despreciable
- mean, stingy
- Synonyms: avaro, mezquino, tacaño, usurero, agarrado, cicatero
- wild; unruly
- Synonyms: salvaje, agresto
- rachitic
- Synonym: raquítico
- 1881, Eduardo Acevedo Díaz, Ismael, 46:
- un pequeño grupo de ovejas ruines e inútiles para la marcha
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
Further reading
- “ruin”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Swedish
Noun
ruin c
- a ruin (remains of a building)
- ruin (financial bankruptcy)
Declension
Declension of ruin | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | ruin | ruinen | ruiner | ruinerna |
Genitive | ruins | ruinens | ruiners | ruinernas |
Related terms
- ruinera
Anagrams
- urin
Tetum
Etymology
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *duRi (“thorn, splinter, fish bone”), akin to Agutaynen doli and Malay duri (“thorn”).
Noun
ruin
- bone