RUINOUS Synonyms: 86 Similar and Opposite Words

ruinous

adjective

ˈrü-ə-nəs

Definition of ruinous

as in disastrous

bringing about ruin or misfortune a ruinous miscalculation of the financial markets left them bankrupt

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in devastating

causing or tending to cause destruction a ruinous windstorm destroyed the crops

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 ruinous These people are ridiculous; these people are ruinous. — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026 In underwriting the loss can run to many times the premium, so a model that is right 95% of the time but wildly overconfident the rest can still be ruinous if its failures bunch together in the wrong place. — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026 The controversial relationship likely proved ruinous for Gates’ relationship with his now ex wife. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 11 June 2026 For a multimillion-dollar data center, that disposal model is potentially ruinous. — IEEE Spectrum, 11 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for ruinous

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruinous

Adjective

Arjun Poudel, a health reporter in Nepal, was commuting to the offices of the Kathmandu Post, in the country’s capital, when messages started coming in about a disastrous flood in his home town, close to the border with China.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
Since a disastrous debut, the rookie right-hander has allowed just two runs over his last 9 2/3 innings with 15 strikeouts.

— Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of disastrous

Adjective

The mother and daughter are among 90 Americans missing after the devastating landslide and flood, which tore through steep mountain gorges near the Nepal-China border and surged downstream along a river, wiping out entire villages.

— Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
Kick the can If Congress fails to act, payments are expected to be 22% lower, which could be devastating for the millions of seniors who rely on their Social Security benefits to pay for basic necessities.

— Ashley Lopez, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of devastating

Adjective

An incident that for others might be fatal—a free fall from a high bridge—affects the coyote for only a brief moment.

— Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
There is a broad debate over the applicability of PNB to modern anti-trust cases, with many legal scholars finding the application of a random number, without any real analysis of the potential harm a merger might cause, to be a fatal flaw.

— Shubha Ghosh, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of fatal

Adjective

Those three for-profit utilities have caused at least seven of California’s 20 most destructive fires, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

— Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Authorities in Spokane, Washington arrested 37-year-old Aaron Farinacci for allegedly starting the Old Trails Fire in early August, which became one of the most destructive wildfires in that state's history.

— Kirk Siegler, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of destructive

Adjective

There are no Cubs players involved in the TikTok series, the Cubs told me, which is unfortunate since Crow-Armstrong has acting in his DNA — his mother and father are both actors — and probably would be at least as good as Damon.

— Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
Every mosquito has a type Count me among the unfortunate souls who are mosquito magnets; something about my body chemistry is irresistible to those tiny bloodsucking fiends.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of unfortunate

Adjective

But the day after her last conversations with her family, catastrophic floods struck Nepal’s valleys along the Chinese border killing more than 1,000 people and leaving another roughly 3,900 unaccounted for, according to the Associated Press.

— Wendy Grossman Kantor, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
More than 1,000 people are dead and nearly 4,000 missing after a Himalayan glacial collapse unleashed catastrophic floods across the Nepal-China border, obliterating roads, towns and hydropower projects.

— Shristi Kafle, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of catastrophic

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ruining

ruinous

ruins

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“Ruinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruinous. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of ruinous

adjective

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