ruination

\ˌɹuː.ɪ.ˈneɪ.ʃən\

/\ˌɹuː.ɪ.ˈneɪ.ʃən\/ noun

The verdict

“ruination” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Ruine, destruction.

Corpus desk

Index FR-ruination · ruination · French

ruination · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "R" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for ruination
PropertyValue
Headwordruination
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˌɹuː.ɪ.ˈneɪ.ʃən\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « ruination » en français

ruinationreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ruination is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ˌɹuː.ɪ.ˈneɪ.ʃən\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Ruine, destruction.".

ruination has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is ruination, spelled R-U-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ruine, destruction.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. There was yet another layer, even larger, in which Frank Herbert was warning that entire societies could be led to ruination by heroes.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). 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.ɪ.ˈneɪ.ʃən\.
What does "ruination" mean?
As a noun, "ruination" means: Ruine, destruction.
How do you pronounce "ruination"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ruination" is \ˌɹuː.ɪ.ˈneɪ.ʃən\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ruination" come from?
"ruination" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list