ruinousadj.

Brit.

/ˈruːᵻnəs/, U.S.

/ˈruənəs/

Forms: Middle English roynous, Middle English roynows, Middle English ruynes, Middle English ruynouzs, Middle English ruynowse, Middle English ruynus, Middle English rynouse (transmission error), Middle English–1500s ruinose, Middle English–1500s ruynouse, Middle English–1600s ruynous, late Middle English rewenus, late Middle English runyouse (transmission error), 1500s ruenous, 1500s ruinowse, 1500s ruyinows, 1500s ruynose, 1500s–1600s ruinouse, 1500s– ruinous; Scottish pre-1700 reawenus, pre-1700 revinus, pre-1700 rewinis, pre-1700 rewinus, pre-1700 rewynois, pre-1700 rewynous, pre-1700 rewynus, pre-1700 rouinous, pre-1700 rowinois, pre-1700 rowinous, pre-1700 rowinus, pre-1700 rowynois, pre-1700 rowynous, pre-1700 ruinows, pre-1700 ruinus, pre-1700 ruwynowsse, pre-1700 ruyneous, pre-1700 ruynos, pre-1700 ruynous, pre-1700 ruynus, pre-1700 rwenous, pre-1700 rwinous, pre-1700 rwinus, pre-1700 rwiyneous, pre-1700 rwiyneus, pre-1700 rwngous, pre-1700 rwnyneous (transmission error), pre-1700 rwynous, pre-1700 rwynows, pre-1700 rwynus, pre-1700 1700s– ruinous; N.E.D. (1910) also records a form late Middle English ruynose.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French ruinous, ruineux; Latin ruīnōsus.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman ruinous, ruynous, ruinus, roynous, (rare) reuynous and Middle French ruineux, ruyneux (French ruineux ) scabby (first quarter of the 12th cent. in Old French in berbiz ruinuses (plural), with reference to sheep), fallen or falling into ruin, dilapidated (1296, originally and frequently with reference to buildings), that brings or tends to bring ruin (1457), excessively expensive (1680) and its etymon classical Latin ruīnōsus (of a structure) liable to collapse, ruined, dilapidated, in post-classical Latin also fatal, disastrous (5th cent. in Augustine) < ruīna ruin n. + -ōsus -ous suffix. Compare Old Occitan ruynos (1346; also roynos), Catalan ruïnós (14th cent.), Spanish ruinoso (late 14th cent. as ruynoso), Portuguese ruinoso (1619), Italian rovinoso (early 14th cent.; second half of the 13th cent. as ruinoso), and also Dutch ruïneus (1566 as †ruwyneus).

a. Esp. of a building: falling or fallen into ruin; decayed, dilapidated, broken down.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [adjective] > dilapidated or ruinous

brychec1000

forcrazedc1320

falling-downc1384

ruinousc1384

forwordenc1450

ruin1467

failed1490

ruinatea1538

ruinated1555

ruined1560

ragged1565

dilapidate1590

through-shot1596

tattered1599

tottered1615

dilapidateda1806

delabrated1813

broken-down1816

tumble-down1819

run-down1832

tumblyc1855

raggedy1921

shot through1926

shot to hell or pieces1926

raddled1949

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Ezek. xxxvi. 33 Y..shal make citees for to be enhabitid, and shal repareyle ruynouse thingis [L. ruinosa].

1423 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 133 (MED) In primis, the hous at the Corner of Irmongerlane in Chepe, ruynous, in poynt to fall doun, defectif.

1454 in J. T. Gilbert Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 282 The wych mese ys olde, ruynes, and waste.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1871) III. 217 Men..toke theire name of a towne callede Achademia..whiche towne was ruinose.

1543–4 Act 35 Hen. VIII c. 4 The chiefe lorde..of whom suche..decayed and ruinous houses be holden.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 9^v Some part of it, being ruinous, I built after my fancie.

1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 154 The much raine enforced us to flie for shelter vnto a ruinous chappell.

1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 5 The Town..is very ruinous, nothing left entire, save the Market, and exchange.

1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. i. 214 The same authority proves Cesaria to have been erected on the ruinous Foundations of the most ancient Jol.

1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 686 The palace of the Thuilleries, an old and ruinous place.

1823 W. Scott Peveril III. vii. 164 This antiquated and almost ruinous pile occupied a part of the site of the public offices in the Strand, commonly called Somerset-House.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 25 [He] Built that new fort..And keeps me in this ruinous castle here.

1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. iii. 27 The weather had broken up the mountains into ruinous heaps.

1883 Harper's Mag. June 35/2 Some ruinous steps led into a cellar.

1937 PMLA 52 452 There was an old ruinous stone fence a few yards only to the rearward.

1981 Antiquaries Jrnl. 61 i. 100 A drawing of 1784 by S. H. Grimm shows the church to have been in a ruinous state.

2006 Build It May 137/3 (advt.) 1 Conversion with Planning Required for the change of use of a ruinous farmhouse and U shaped steading into residential use.

b. figurative.

ΚΠ

a1425 Dialogue Reason & Adversity (Cambr.) (1968) 11 (MED) Mi siknesse is incurable..Þanne glad be þi spiriȝt; his presoun is ruynouzs, he schal þe sunnere be deliuerid.

c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Testament (Harl. 218) l. 551 in Minor Poems (1911) i. 349 (MED) I fele myn herte brotel and roynous [v.r. ruynous], Nat purified Iesu therin to reste.

c1592 R. Bruce in R.Wodrow Life (1843) 31 The only band-temporal that holds up the commonwealth here, which is ruinous on all sides, and is mislike to fall down.

1621 T. Taylor Parable of Sower & Seed 103 We cannot haue our ruinous hearts stand vpright, further then we dayly repaire them.

1661 R. Boyle Some Consider. Style of Script. (1675) 138 As long as we continue in these ruinous cottages of clay.

a1702 J. Pomfret Poems (1724) I. 125 The larger Planets..without motion lie, Unweildy Globes of solid Night, And ruinous Lumber of the Sky.

1765 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (Dublin ed.) I. Ded. p. xvii The Roman State rested, simply, on the two Pillars of temperance and patriotism,..till..the mighty Structure..grew ruinous, and fell confounded together.

1843 D. Urquhart Appeal against Faction i. 12 They are told that with this tottering and ruinous edifice they are not called on to interfere.

1900 M. Monteiro tr. A. de Salas y Gilavert Infl. Catholicism on Sci. & Arts vii. 75 The chair of Protestantism, resting as it does on the ruinous foundations of pride, can only be occupied and filled by the proud man.

2000 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 30 May s10 Bringing its new post-war Ford to market to save the company from the ruinous condition old Henry had left it in.

†c. Plunging, crashing; characteristic of a collapse or fall. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [adjective] > relating to a fall

ruinous1581

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sudden or violent sound > [adjective] > of impact or concussion > crash, clash, or smash

crashing1574

ruinous1581

clashing1619

1581 J. Heywood tr. Seneca Troas (new ed.) i, in T. Newton et al. tr. Seneca 10 Trag. f. 98^v The walles but late of high renowne lo here their ruinous fall [L. en alta muri decora congesti iacent].

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 921 Nor was his eare less peal'd With noises loud and ruinous..then when Bellona storms.

†d. Almost obliterated. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > memory > effacement, obliteration > [adjective] > effaced, obliterated > almost

ruinous1624

1624 F. Quarles Sions Elegies To Reader Some ruinous Accents, here and there discouered, makes them imagin, they writ some things in verse.

2. That brings or tends to bring ruin; disastrous, destructive, damaging. In later use also: that costs more than can be afforded, excessively expensive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [adjective]

fellc1330

undone1340

ruinous?a1439

violablea1470

perniciousc1475

destructive1490

confusible1502

destroying1535

exitiable1548

ruinate1562

peremptory1567

wrackful1578

slaughterous1582

ruinating1595

ruining1605

corrumpent1607

wracksome1608

in suds1611

destructory1614

poisonousa1616

wrakefulc1625

predatory1626

predatorious1641

demolishing1648

untwined1649

undoing1654

destructionable1656

destructful1659

mortal1670

wreckinga1677

fatal1692

quadrumanous1704

interdestructive1805

annihilatory1825

demolitionary1834

ruinatious1845

consumptive1860

thunderous1874

a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) vi. 2359 (MED) The sentence concludeth in meenyng Off ther cite the ruynous fallyng.

a1500 tr. A. Chartier Quadrilogue (Rawl.) (1974) 204 (MED) Thou..excusid and susteynid tresons and the cursid conspiracions, wher thou arte in þe ruynous [Fr. ruineux] partye.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Fvi All the worlde (as saynt Austen sayth) is ruynous and bytter falsenes.

1582 T. Bentley Fift Lampe Virginitie v. 23 I tread a most perilous and ruinous waie that leadeth vnto death.

a1616 W. Shakespeare King Lear (1623) i. ii. 111 Machinations, hollownesse, treacherie, and all ruinous disorders follow vs disquietly to our Graues.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 216 Together rush'd Both Battels maine, with ruinous assault And inextinguishable rage.

1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. v. 198 Provision might be made,..for preventing those ruinous Consequences.

1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 460 'Tis quenchless thirst Of ruinous ebriety that prompts His ev'ry action.

1816 J. Scott Paris Revisited iv. 59 It was the ruinous imposts levied by these Sovereigns that did the most harm to the Flemish cities.

1842 J. Bischoff Comprehensive Hist. Woollen Manuf. II. 251 Any attempts to raise its price by artificial means..would be ruinous to the wool trade.

1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People vi. §2. 275 The ruinous issue of the great struggle with France roused England to a burst of fury.

1932 A. Bell Cherry Tree vi. 72 Ruinous grain prices had led many to set clover and grasses in their corn last year.

1966 A. Higgins Langrishe, go Down xxv. 182 The sun quite ruinous to the ladies' complexions..playing havoc with arms and bare backs.

1991 Economist 5 Oct. 50/1 Surgeons, accountants, lawyers, divorced husbands and property developers have a fear in common: all are haunted by the spectre of a ruinous lawsuit.

3. Of a person, country, etc.: brought to ruin; sunk into decline. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective] > falling from prosperous or thriving condition > having fallen

forlornc1386

fallen1550

ruinous1558

ruinate1562

declined1591

ruinated1592

ruined1596

lapsed1667

prolapsed1698

broken-down1816

decadent1837

1558 C. Goodman How Superior Powers 207 Haue ye not herein iustly condemned your selues as faynt harted cowardes and manifeste trayters..to your owne natiue and ruynous countrie?

1605 W. Camden Remaines ii. 31 The valerous vpholder of the ruinous state of Britaine against the Saxons.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iv. iii. 461 Is yon'd despis'd and ruinous man my Lord?

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. i. 32 The Roman Empire now grown Ruinous, could not repair it's out-Rooms.

1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks I. iii. 215 A small degree of Favour wou'd insure the Fortunes of a distress'd and ruinous Tribe.

1752 D. Garrick Every Man in his Humour iii. iii. 31 He had so writhen himself into the Habit of one of your poor Infantry, your decay'd, ruinous, worm-eaten Gentlemen of the Round.

1839 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 354/1 A very near relative of that illustriously ruinous family, the Snakes of Galway.

1873 Belgravia June 504 Those who could not pay..found but scant mercy in Rome, small pity among the hardy tribes pressing on the north-western frontiers of the great, soft, ruinous empire.

2000 tr. in J. Lundius & M. Lundahl Peasants & Relig. iii. 157 The Haitians are in their majority miserable and ruinous people.

Compounds

ruinous-looking adj.

ΚΠ

1800 H. Craik Henry of Northumberland I. viii. 78 He now turned to a ruinous looking passage near the door.

1920 A. Hope Lucinda xix. 240 That same afternoon I made my way to the palazzo, rather a gloomy, ruinous-looking old building, on a narrow side canal.

2008 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 16 Mar. re11 In Asbury Park, the effort to transform a once ruinous-looking shorefront into a resort destination is moving ahead as well.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	ruinous
释义	ruinousadj. Brit. /ˈruːᵻnəs/, U.S. /ˈruənəs/ Forms: Middle English roynous, Middle English roynows, Middle English ruynes, Middle English ruynouzs, Middle English ruynowse, Middle English ruynus, Middle English rynouse (transmission error), Middle English–1500s ruinose, Middle English–1500s ruynouse, Middle English–1600s ruynous, late Middle English rewenus, late Middle English runyouse (transmission error), 1500s ruenous, 1500s ruinowse, 1500s ruyinows, 1500s ruynose, 1500s–1600s ruinouse, 1500s– ruinous; Scottish pre-1700 reawenus, pre-1700 revinus, pre-1700 rewinis, pre-1700 rewinus, pre-1700 rewynois, pre-1700 rewynous, pre-1700 rewynus, pre-1700 rouinous, pre-1700 rowinois, pre-1700 rowinous, pre-1700 rowinus, pre-1700 rowynois, pre-1700 rowynous, pre-1700 ruinows, pre-1700 ruinus, pre-1700 ruwynowsse, pre-1700 ruyneous, pre-1700 ruynos, pre-1700 ruynous, pre-1700 ruynus, pre-1700 rwenous, pre-1700 rwinous, pre-1700 rwinus, pre-1700 rwiyneous, pre-1700 rwiyneus, pre-1700 rwngous, pre-1700 rwnyneous (transmission error), pre-1700 rwynous, pre-1700 rwynows, pre-1700 rwynus, pre-1700 1700s– ruinous; N.E.D. (1910) also records a form late Middle English ruynose. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French ruinous, ruineux; Latin ruīnōsus. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman ruinous, ruynous, ruinus, roynous, (rare) reuynous and Middle French ruineux, ruyneux (French ruineux ) scabby (first quarter of the 12th cent. in Old French in berbiz ruinuses (plural), with reference to sheep), fallen or falling into ruin, dilapidated (1296, originally and frequently with reference to buildings), that brings or tends to bring ruin (1457), excessively expensive (1680) and its etymon classical Latin ruīnōsus (of a structure) liable to collapse, ruined, dilapidated, in post-classical Latin also fatal, disastrous (5th cent. in Augustine) < ruīna ruin n. + -ōsus -ous suffix. Compare Old Occitan ruynos (1346; also roynos), Catalan ruïnós (14th cent.), Spanish ruinoso (late 14th cent. as ruynoso), Portuguese ruinoso (1619), Italian rovinoso (early 14th cent.; second half of the 13th cent. as ruinoso), and also Dutch ruïneus (1566 as †ruwyneus). 1. a. Esp. of a building: falling or fallen into ruin; decayed, dilapidated, broken down. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [adjective] > dilapidated or ruinous brychec1000 forcrazedc1320 falling-downc1384 ruinousc1384 forwordenc1450 ruin1467 failed1490 ruinatea1538 ruinated1555 ruined1560 ragged1565 dilapidate1590 through-shot1596 tattered1599 tottered1615 dilapidateda1806 delabrated1813 broken-down1816 tumble-down1819 run-down1832 tumblyc1855 raggedy1921 shot through1926 shot to hell or pieces1926 raddled1949 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Ezek. xxxvi. 33 Y..shal make citees for to be enhabitid, and shal repareyle ruynouse thingis [L. ruinosa]. 1423 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 133 (MED) In primis, the hous at the Corner of Irmongerlane in Chepe, ruynous, in poynt to fall doun, defectif. 1454 in J. T. Gilbert Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 282 The wych mese ys olde, ruynes, and waste. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1871) III. 217 Men..toke theire name of a towne callede Achademia..whiche towne was ruinose. 1543–4 Act 35 Hen. VIII c. 4 The chiefe lorde..of whom suche..decayed and ruinous houses be holden. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 9^v Some part of it, being ruinous, I built after my fancie. 1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 154 The much raine enforced us to flie for shelter vnto a ruinous chappell. 1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 5 The Town..is very ruinous, nothing left entire, save the Market, and exchange. 1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. i. 214 The same authority proves Cesaria to have been erected on the ruinous Foundations of the most ancient Jol. 1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 686 The palace of the Thuilleries, an old and ruinous place. 1823 W. Scott Peveril III. vii. 164 This antiquated and almost ruinous pile occupied a part of the site of the public offices in the Strand, commonly called Somerset-House. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 25 [He] Built that new fort..And keeps me in this ruinous castle here. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. iii. 27 The weather had broken up the mountains into ruinous heaps. 1883 Harper's Mag. June 35/2 Some ruinous steps led into a cellar. 1937 PMLA 52 452 There was an old ruinous stone fence a few yards only to the rearward. 1981 Antiquaries Jrnl. 61 i. 100 A drawing of 1784 by S. H. Grimm shows the church to have been in a ruinous state. 2006 Build It May 137/3 (advt.) 1 Conversion with Planning Required for the change of use of a ruinous farmhouse and U shaped steading into residential use. b. figurative. ΚΠ a1425 Dialogue Reason & Adversity (Cambr.) (1968) 11 (MED) Mi siknesse is incurable..Þanne glad be þi spiriȝt; his presoun is ruynouzs, he schal þe sunnere be deliuerid. c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Testament (Harl. 218) l. 551 in Minor Poems (1911) i. 349 (MED) I fele myn herte brotel and roynous [v.r. ruynous], Nat purified Iesu therin to reste. c1592 R. Bruce in R.Wodrow Life (1843) 31 The only band-temporal that holds up the commonwealth here, which is ruinous on all sides, and is mislike to fall down. 1621 T. Taylor Parable of Sower & Seed 103 We cannot haue our ruinous hearts stand vpright, further then we dayly repaire them. 1661 R. Boyle Some Consider. Style of Script. (1675) 138 As long as we continue in these ruinous cottages of clay. a1702 J. Pomfret Poems (1724) I. 125 The larger Planets..without motion lie, Unweildy Globes of solid Night, And ruinous Lumber of the Sky. 1765 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (Dublin ed.) I. Ded. p. xvii The Roman State rested, simply, on the two Pillars of temperance and patriotism,..till..the mighty Structure..grew ruinous, and fell confounded together. 1843 D. Urquhart Appeal against Faction i. 12 They are told that with this tottering and ruinous edifice they are not called on to interfere. 1900 M. Monteiro tr. A. de Salas y Gilavert Infl. Catholicism on Sci. & Arts vii. 75 The chair of Protestantism, resting as it does on the ruinous foundations of pride, can only be occupied and filled by the proud man. 2000 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 30 May s10 Bringing its new post-war Ford to market to save the company from the ruinous condition old Henry had left it in. †c. Plunging, crashing; characteristic of a collapse or fall. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [adjective] > relating to a fall ruinous1581 the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sudden or violent sound > [adjective] > of impact or concussion > crash, clash, or smash crashing1574 ruinous1581 clashing1619 1581 J. Heywood tr. Seneca Troas (new ed.) i, in T. Newton et al. tr. Seneca 10 Trag. f. 98^v The walles but late of high renowne lo here their ruinous fall [L. en alta muri decora congesti iacent]. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 921 Nor was his eare less peal'd With noises loud and ruinous..then when Bellona storms. View more context for this quotation †d. Almost obliterated. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > memory > effacement, obliteration > [adjective] > effaced, obliterated > almost ruinous1624 1624 F. Quarles Sions Elegies To Reader Some ruinous Accents, here and there discouered, makes them imagin, they writ some things in verse. 2. That brings or tends to bring ruin; disastrous, destructive, damaging. In later use also: that costs more than can be afforded, excessively expensive. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [adjective] fellc1330 undone1340 ruinous?a1439 violablea1470 perniciousc1475 destructive1490 confusible1502 destroying1535 exitiable1548 ruinate1562 peremptory1567 wrackful1578 slaughterous1582 ruinating1595 ruining1605 corrumpent1607 wracksome1608 in suds1611 destructory1614 poisonousa1616 wrakefulc1625 predatory1626 predatorious1641 demolishing1648 untwined1649 undoing1654 destructionable1656 destructful1659 mortal1670 wreckinga1677 fatal1692 quadrumanous1704 interdestructive1805 annihilatory1825 demolitionary1834 ruinatious1845 consumptive1860 thunderous1874 a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) vi. 2359 (MED) The sentence concludeth in meenyng Off ther cite the ruynous fallyng. a1500 tr. A. Chartier Quadrilogue (Rawl.) (1974) 204 (MED) Thou..excusid and susteynid tresons and the cursid conspiracions, wher thou arte in þe ruynous [Fr. ruineux] partye. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Fvi All the worlde (as saynt Austen sayth) is ruynous and bytter falsenes. 1582 T. Bentley Fift Lampe Virginitie v. 23 I tread a most perilous and ruinous waie that leadeth vnto death. a1616 W. Shakespeare King Lear (1623) i. ii. 111 Machinations, hollownesse, treacherie, and all ruinous disorders follow vs disquietly to our Graues. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 216 Together rush'd Both Battels maine, with ruinous assault And inextinguishable rage. View more context for this quotation 1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. v. 198 Provision might be made,..for preventing those ruinous Consequences. 1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 460 'Tis quenchless thirst Of ruinous ebriety that prompts His ev'ry action. 1816 J. Scott Paris Revisited iv. 59 It was the ruinous imposts levied by these Sovereigns that did the most harm to the Flemish cities. 1842 J. Bischoff Comprehensive Hist. Woollen Manuf. II. 251 Any attempts to raise its price by artificial means..would be ruinous to the wool trade. 1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People vi. §2. 275 The ruinous issue of the great struggle with France roused England to a burst of fury. 1932 A. Bell Cherry Tree vi. 72 Ruinous grain prices had led many to set clover and grasses in their corn last year. 1966 A. Higgins Langrishe, go Down xxv. 182 The sun quite ruinous to the ladies' complexions..playing havoc with arms and bare backs. 1991 Economist 5 Oct. 50/1 Surgeons, accountants, lawyers, divorced husbands and property developers have a fear in common: all are haunted by the spectre of a ruinous lawsuit. 3. Of a person, country, etc.: brought to ruin; sunk into decline. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective] > falling from prosperous or thriving condition > having fallen forlornc1386 fallen1550 ruinous1558 ruinate1562 declined1591 ruinated1592 ruined1596 lapsed1667 prolapsed1698 broken-down1816 decadent1837 1558 C. Goodman How Superior Powers 207 Haue ye not herein iustly condemned your selues as faynt harted cowardes and manifeste trayters..to your owne natiue and ruynous countrie? 1605 W. Camden Remaines ii. 31 The valerous vpholder of the ruinous state of Britaine against the Saxons. a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iv. iii. 461 Is yon'd despis'd and ruinous man my Lord? View more context for this quotation 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. i. 32 The Roman Empire now grown Ruinous, could not repair it's out-Rooms. 1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks I. iii. 215 A small degree of Favour wou'd insure the Fortunes of a distress'd and ruinous Tribe. 1752 D. Garrick Every Man in his Humour iii. iii. 31 He had so writhen himself into the Habit of one of your poor Infantry, your decay'd, ruinous, worm-eaten Gentlemen of the Round. 1839 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 354/1 A very near relative of that illustriously ruinous family, the Snakes of Galway. 1873 Belgravia June 504 Those who could not pay..found but scant mercy in Rome, small pity among the hardy tribes pressing on the north-western frontiers of the great, soft, ruinous empire. 2000 tr. in J. Lundius & M. Lundahl Peasants & Relig. iii. 157 The Haitians are in their majority miserable and ruinous people. Compounds ruinous-looking adj. ΚΠ 1800 H. Craik Henry of Northumberland I. viii. 78 He now turned to a ruinous looking passage near the door. 1920 A. Hope Lucinda xix. 240 That same afternoon I made my way to the palazzo, rather a gloomy, ruinous-looking old building, on a narrow side canal. 2008 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 16 Mar. re11 In Asbury Park, the effort to transform a once ruinous-looking shorefront into a resort destination is moving ahead as well. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.c1384
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