ruination

/ˌɹuː.ɪˈneɪʃən/

//ˌɹuː.ɪˈneɪʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ruination" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ruination” is uncommon English (frequency #72,727 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,727
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being ruined, a state of devastation or destruction.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ruination · ruination · English

ruination · rank #72,727 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,727
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH Roker

Nearest frequency peer: Roker (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “ruination”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “ruination” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ruination
PropertyValue
Headwordruination
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɹuː.ɪˈneɪʃən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#72,727
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ruination” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).ruinationfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Roker” (#72,725), “rockfish” (#72,724), “robbin” (#72,723). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “ruination” is #72,727. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ruination is uncommon English at frequency #72,727 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌɹuː.ɪˈneɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for ruination, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From ruin + -ation. The correct English form is ruination, spelled R-U-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being ruined, a state of devastation or destruction.
  2. 2
    The act of ruining or wrecking.
  3. 3
    The cause of being ruined, destroyed or lost.
  4. 4
    A loss of reputation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ruination appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. As our tour has shown, the state of ruination of castle sites was a key factor in their fate when the railways came through.
  2. Yet also thanks largely to Trump, a parallel disaster is unfolding across the world: the ruination of America’s reputation as a safe, trustworthy, competent international leader and partner.

Etymology

From ruin + -ation.

Synonyms

destructionwrecking

Antonyms

foundationconstructionbuilding

This word in other languages

ruina(Español)ruination(Français)Verderben(Deutsch)ruína(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ruination"?
"ruination" is spelled R-U-I-N-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɹuː.ɪˈneɪʃən/.
What does "ruination" mean?
As a noun, "ruination" means: The state of being ruined, a state of devastation or destruction.
How do you pronounce "ruination"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ruination" is /ˌɹuː.ɪˈneɪʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ruination"?
From ruin + -ation. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ruination", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

rightward#72,717rideshare#72,715shitfaced#72,759quotidian#72,684

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list