1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a ruinous miscalculation of the financial markets left them bankrupt
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2
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction
a ruinous windstorm destroyed the crops
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ruinous
The share of seniors will more than double in most countries by midcentury, pushing support ratios (the number of workers per retiree) to ruinous levels; China’s, for example, will fall from ten to one in 2000 to under two to one by 2050.
—
Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2025
As the medical profession came to consider cocaine and morphine as equally dangerous, coca became associated with opium, and the public was led to believe that the ruinous effects of habitual opium use would inevitably befall those who regularly chewed coca leaves.
—Wade Davis, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2025
Trump warned automakers not to raise prices in response to his ruinous tariffs.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2025
Granted, the dropoff from Allen to any replacement is immense, perhaps ruinous.
—Tim Graham, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2025
As the medical profession came to consider cocaine and morphine as equally dangerous, coca became associated with opium, and the public was led to believe that the ruinous effects of habitual opium use would inevitably befall those who regularly chewed coca leaves.
—Wade Davis, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2025
Trump warned automakers not to raise prices in response to his ruinous tariffs.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2025
Granted, the dropoff from Allen to any replacement is immense, perhaps ruinous.
—Tim Graham, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruinous
Adjective
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In short, plenty of disastrous events can strike, often with little to no warning.—
Niki Jorgensen,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
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Physicist Matthew von Hippel looks not at the birth of the universe but at its destruction, outlining a disastrous world-ending scenario that makes asteroid strikes and Earth-colliding black holes look like kid stuff.—
Jeanna Bryner,
Scientific American,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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The impact on the demographic group driving growth in population, consumer spending, and higher education enrollment in this country would be nothing short of devastating.—
Noreen Sugrue,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
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This was somehow more devastating for Minnesota than last year’s Game 5 debacle against Dallas.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
29 May 2025
Adjective
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Her father was charged A CT baby had fractures and injuries medical personnel say could have been fatal.—
Staff report,
Hartford Courant,
30 May 2025
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In addition to the loss of wildlife, collisions are also fatal to humans.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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Of those, 11 strengthened into hurricanes and five became major hurricanes — including the massively destructive Hurricanes Helene and Milton and Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 storm on record.—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
22 May 2025
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The MacGuffin of all MacGuffins, we're told the Rabbit's Foot is some sort of powerful, potentially destructive force, but its exact nature is never explained in the film.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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The timing of Correa’s five-game absence for a concussion sustained in Baltimore on May 15 was unfortunate.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
27 May 2025
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This is especially unfortunate because the plot itself is quite harrowing.—
Paul A. Thompson,
Pitchfork,
22 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruinous. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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