Word of the Day: Ruin
Use the word “ruin” when the quality of something has decreased a lot. It can be a situation or a relationship that is suddenly very bad:
- She ruined dinner by leaving the food in the oven for too long.
- The fire ruined the house. (active voice)
- The house was ruined by the fire. (passive voice)
- Carl ruined the relationship he had with his girlfriend by cheating on her.
- Bad weather ruined the party we planned to have outside.
- The women talked nonstop during the movie and ruined it for everyone.
- You’re ruining my plans.
- My plans are ruined. (You can use “ruined” as an adjective.)
You can also use “ruin” as a noun. In this case, it’s something that is completely destroyed, or the passage of time has damaged something, such as a building.
- Their house lay in ruins after the fire.
- Their plans are in ruins because the city wouldn’t give them a license to do business.
- When you visit Italy, you can see the ruins of the Roman empire.
- The army that invaded the city left it in ruins.
- The ruins you see in Greece are thousands of years old.
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with R page to see the list of all words starting with letter R. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
