RUINOUS

blasting, ruinous

(adjective) causing injury or blight; especially affecting with sudden violence or plague or ruin; “the blasting effects of the intense cold on the budding fruit”; “the blasting force of the wind blowing sharp needles of sleet in our faces”; “a ruinous war”

catastrophic, ruinous

(adjective) extremely harmful; bringing physical or financial ruin; “a catastrophic depression”; “catastrophic illness”; “a ruinous course of action”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

ruinous (comparative more ruinous, superlative most ruinous)

Causing ruin; destructive, calamitous

Extremely costly; so expensive as to cause financial ruin.

Characterized by ruin; ruined; dilapidated; as, an edifice, bridge, or wall in a ruinous state.

Synonyms

• (characterized by ruin): See ramshackle

Anagrams

• urinous

Source: Wiktionary


Ru"in*ous, a. Etym: [L. ruinosus: cf. F. ruineux. See Ruin.]

1. Causing, or tending to cause, ruin; destructive; baneful; pernicious; as, a ruinous project. After a night of storm so ruinous. Milton.

2. Characterized by ruin; ruined; dilapidated; as, an edifice, bridge, or wall in a ruinous state.

3. Composed of, or consisting in, ruins. Behold, Damascus . . . shall be a ruinous heap. Isa. xvii. 1.

Syn.

– Dilapidated; decayed; demolished; pernicious; destructive; baneful; wasteful; mischievous.

– Ru"in*ous*ly, adv.

– Ru"in*ous*ness, n.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

4 April 2025

GUILLOTINE

(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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