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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

ruinous en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈɹuː.ɪnəs/
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English ruynous, from Old French ruinos, ruineus, from Latin ruīnōsus. By surface analysis, ruin + -ous.

Meanings

  1. Causing ruin; destructive, calamitous.
  2. Extremely costly; so expensive as to cause financial ruin.
    • We are rapidly reversing the economic calamity we inherited from the previous administration, including ruinous price increases and record-setting inflation, inflation like we've never had before. 2025 September 23, Donald Trump, speech at United Nations:
    • They were forced to completely replace the roof at ruinous expense.
  3. Characterized by ruin; ruined; dilapidated; as, an edifice, bridge, or wall in a ruinous state.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
more ruinous Degree=Cmp lexicographic
most ruinous Degree=Sup lexicographic

Deriveds

ruinously · ruinousness

Synonyms

ramshackle (characterized by ruin)

Translations (16)

hi नाशक (destructive) · ca ruïnós (destructive) · it rovinoso (destructive) · gd sgriosail (destructive) · es ruinoso (dilapidated) · es ruinoso (destructive) · la calamitōsus (destructive) · nrf ruinneux (destructive) · sc arruinósu (destructive) · pt ruinoso (destructive) · vec rovinóxo (destructive) · bg гибелен (destructive) · fr ruineux (destructive) · bg разрушителен (destructive) · la perniciosus (destructive) · ast ruinosu (destructive)