From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Ruin \Ru"in\, n. [OE. ruine, F. ruine, fr. L. ruina, fr. ruere,
rutum, to fall with violence, to rush or tumble down.]
1. The act of falling or tumbling down; fall. [Obs.] "His
ruin startled the other steeds." --Chapman.
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2. Such a change of anything as destroys it, or entirely
defeats its object, or unfits it for use; destruction;
overthrow; as, the ruin of a ship or an army; the ruin of
a constitution or a government; the ruin of health or
hopes. "Ruin seize thee, ruthless king!" --Gray.
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3. That which is fallen down and become worthless from injury
or decay; as, his mind is a ruin; especially, in the
plural, the remains of a destroyed, dilapidated, or
desolate house, fortress, city, or the like.
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The Veian and the Gabian towers shall fall,
And one promiscuous ruin cover all;
Nor, after length of years, a stone betray
The place where once the very ruins lay. --Addison.
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The labor of a day will not build up a virtuous
habit on the ruins of an old and vicious character.
--Buckminster.
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4. The state of being dcayed, or of having become ruined or
worthless; as, to be in ruins; to go to ruin.
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5. That which promotes injury, decay, or destruction.
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The errors of young men are the ruin of business.
--Bacon.
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Syn: Destruction; downfall; perdition; fall; overthrow;
subversion; defeat; bane; pest; mischief.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Ruin \Ru"in\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ruined;p. pr. & vb. n.
Ruining.] [Cf. F. ruiner, LL. ruinare. See Ruin, n.]
To bring to ruin; to cause to fall to pieces and decay; to
make to perish; to bring to destruction; to bring to poverty
or bankruptcy; to impair seriously; to damage essentially; to
overthrow.
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this mortal house I'll ruin. --Shak.
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By thee raised, I ruin all my foes. --Milton.
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The eyes of other people are the eyes that ruin us.
--Franklin.
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By the fireside there are old men seated,
Seeling ruined cities in the ashes. --Longfellow.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Ruin \Ru"in\, v. i.
To fall to ruins; to go to ruin; to become decayed or
dilapidated; to perish. [R.]
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Though he his house of polished marble build,
Yet shall it ruin like the moth's frail cell. --Sandys.
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If we are idle, and disturb the industrious in their
business, we shall ruin the faster. --Locke.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
ruin
n 1: an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction; "you
have brought ruin on this entire family" [syn: ruin,
ruination]
2: a ruined building; "they explored several Roman ruins"
3: the process of becoming dilapidated [syn: dilapidation,
ruin]
4: an event that results in destruction [syn: ruin,
ruination]
5: failure that results in a loss of position or reputation
[syn: downfall, ruin, ruination]
6: destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or
ruined [syn: laying waste, ruin, ruining, ruination,
wrecking]
v 1: destroy completely; damage irreparably; "You have ruined my
car by pouring sugar in the tank!"; "The tears ruined her
make-up" [syn: destroy, ruin]
2: destroy or cause to fail; "This behavior will ruin your
chances of winning the election"
3: reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going
to break me!"; "The slump in the financial markets smashed
him" [syn: bankrupt, ruin, break, smash]
4: reduce to ruins; "The country lay ruined after the war"
5: deprive of virginity; "This dirty old man deflowered several
young girls in the village" [syn: deflower, ruin]
6: fall into ruin