ruin

A2 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˈruːən/ UK /ˈɹuː.ɪn/ See IPA manual

noun verb Freq #1918

Meanings

1

verb
To spoil or destroy something completely.

The rain ruined our picnic.
2

noun
The broken remains of an old building.

We visited the ruins of an ancient castle.
3

noun
The state of being destroyed or falling apart.

The old factory has fallen into ruin.
4

noun
Complete loss of money, success, or position.

Gambling has been the ruin of many families.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

4 noun · complete loss of money,... ruination

Word family

Forms ruinedruiningruins

Derived forms ruinationruiniformruinismruinlessruinlike

Related forms ruinableruination ruiner ruinousruint

Common collocations

ruin the weekend Verb + noun

Etymology

From Middle English ruyne, ruine, from Old French ruine, from Latin ruīna (“overthrow, ruin”), from ruō (“to fall down, tumble, sink in ruin, rush”).

ruyne Middle English ruine Old French ruīna Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

# ruin

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** ˈruːən
**IPA (UK):** ˈɹuː.ɪn
**Frequency rank:** 1918

## Meanings
1. To spoil or destroy something completely.
2. The broken remains of an old building.
3. The state of being destroyed or falling apart.
4. Complete loss of money, success, or position.

## Examples
- The rain ruined our picnic.
- We visited the ruins of an ancient castle.
- The old factory has fallen into ruin.
- Gambling has been the ruin of many families.

## Derived Forms
- ruination
- ruiniform
- ruinism
- ruinless
- ruinlike

## Related Forms
- ruinable
- ruination
- ruiner
- ruinous
- ruint

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ruyne
- Root: ruine
- Root: ruīna

## Etymology
From Middle English ruyne, ruine, from Old French ruine, from Latin ruīna (“overthrow, ruin”), from ruō (“to fall down, tumble, sink in ruin, rush”).

## AI Etymology
Ruin comes from Middle English ruyne, ruine, from Old French ruine, from Latin ruīna (“overthrow, ruin”), from ruō (“to fall down, tumble, sink in ruin, rush”). Modern senses include to spoil or destroy something completely. and the broken remains of an old building.. The wider word family includes derivatives such as ruination, ruiniform, ruinism, ruinless, and ruinlike and related forms such as ruinable, ruination, ruiner, and ruinous.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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