1. Damage beyond use or repair
   "The tears ruined her make-up"; "You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!";
   - destroy
    
2. Destroy or cause to fail
   "This behaviour will ruin your chances of winning the election"
    
3. Reduce to ruins
   "The country lay ruined after the war"
    
4. Reduce to bankruptcy
   "My daughter's fancy wedding is going to ruin me!";
   - bankrupt, break, smash
    
5. Fall into ruin
   "The abandoned castle ruined over the centuries"
    
6. [archaic] Deprive of virginity
   "This dirty old man ruined several young girls in the village";
   - deflower [archaic]

1. Destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined
   "The storm's ruin of the coastal homes was complete";
   - laying waste, ruining, ruination
    
2. An event that results in destruction
   "The flood brought ruin to the farming community";
   - ruination
    
3. An irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
   "you have brought ruin on this entire family";
   - ruination
    
4. A ruined building
   "they explored several Roman ruins"
    
5. The process of becoming dilapidated
   "The ruin of the abandoned house accelerated after the roof began to leak";
   - dilapidation
    
6. Failure that results in a loss of position or reputation
   "Financial mismanagement brought about the company's ruin";
   - downfall, ruination

Derived forms: ruined, ruining, ruins

Type of: act, baffle, bilk [informal], building, copulate, couple, cross, crumble, decay, demolition, desolate, desolation, destruction, devastate, devastation, dilapidate, edifice, failure, foil, frustrate, impoverish, lay waste, lay waste to, mate, move, pair, queer [informal], ravage, scotch, scupper [informal], spoil, thwart, waste, wipeout

Encyclopedia: Ruin, Iran