# ruinous

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈɹuː.ɪnəs/ · frequency rank #42,393

## Definitions
1. Causing ruin; destructive, calamitous.
2. Extremely costly; so expensive as to cause financial ruin.
3. Characterized by ruin; ruined; dilapidated; as, an edifice, bridge, or wall in a ruinous state.

## Etymology
From Middle English ruynous, from Old French ruinos, ruineus, from Latin ruīnōsus. By surface analysis, ruin + -ous.

## Easily confused with
- **ruins** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ruinous-vs-ruins)
- **Rhinos** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rhinos-vs-ruinous)

## Common misspellings (9)
`riunous`, `rruinous`, `ruinnous`, `ruinosu`, `ruinouss`, `ruinuos`, `ruionus`, `runious`, `urinous`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ruinous