| 释义 |
ru·in
I. \ˈrü]ə̇n, ˈru̇] also ]ˌin, dial ˈrərn\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English ruine, from Middle French, from Latin ruina; akin to Latin ruere to rush, fall — more at rug
1.
a. archaic : a falling down especially of a building : collapse
b. : the decay or fall of an individual or a group : physical, moral, economic, or social collapse
< bankruptcy, dishonor, and ruin were now his lot >
2.
a. archaic : the condition of something that has collapsed : a state of destruction or abjectness
b. : the remains of something that has been destroyed : decayed or broken fragments — usually used in plural
< went back to the ruins of their city — Weston La Barre >
3. : a cause or agent of destruction : destroyer, wrecker
< this carelessness … was to be his ruin — Mary A. Hamilton >
< drink was his ruin >
4.
a. : the destruction, laying waste, or wrecking of something : devastation, overthrow
< ruin can make a hideous modern building seem beautiful — Stephen Spender >
< the ruin of modern drama — T.S.Eliot >
< risked … his own political ruin — C.H.Sykes >
b. : damage, injury, impairment
< the ruin of misspent years cannot be quickly undone >
5. : the moral or social downfall of a woman (as by vice or seduction)
< a daughter's ruin unhinged the old man's mind >
6. : a building, person, or other object that has tumbled down or fallen into decay
< a ruin that was now a home of bats and lizards >
< should write the biography of this shambling ruin — Lee Rogow >
II. verb
(ruined \-nd, dial -nt\ ; ruined ; ruining ; ruins)
Etymology: Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French ruiner to ruin, from Medieval Latin ruinare, from Latin ruina ruin
transitive verb
1.
a. : to lay waste : reduce to wreckage : devastate, overthrow
< ruined temple >
< ruined city >
< the ruined land >
b. obsolete : to root out or lay low
2.
a. : to damage or destroy irredeemably : inflict irreparable injury on
< rain had ruined her hat >
< crops ruined by hail >
< a car ruined in a smashup >
< in danger of being ruined by prosperity >
b. : to overthrow the fortunes of : bring to financial ruin : bankrupt, impoverish
< was ruined during the great crash >
< had been ruined by speculation >
c. : to bring (a woman) to degradation or dishonor
3. : to subject to entire frustration, failure, or disaster
< ruined hopes >
< an illness that ruined his chances of promotion >
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to crash down : fall headlong to destruction
b. : to become decayed or dilapidated
2. : to come to moral, financial, or social ruin : be impoverished, degraded, or dishonored
Synonyms: see destroy |