What does ruinously mean?
Ruinously is an adverb meaning in a way that causes ruin, severe damage, or financial ruin. It is especially common in the phrase “ruinously expensive,” where it describes a cost so high that it threatens a person’s finances or a project’s viability. The word can also describe destructive force, as when a storm or conflict is said to be ruinously destructive. Its tone is formal and emphatic, often suggesting consequences that are both serious and difficult to recover from. Because it is formed from the adjective ruinous, ruinously carries the sense of ruin in its strongest, most consequential form. It is useful when the scale of harm needs to be emphasized: ordinary words such as costly or harmful may understate the financial or practical damage involved. In general English, the word appears in discussion of money, business, warfare, disasters, and other situations where consequences can be catastrophic.
adverbIn a way that causes ruin or severe damage; so as to destroy or damage severely. At such a high cost that it causes financial ruin.
- With ruinous destructive force or effect; so as to ruin or destroy.
- At an excessively high cost, so as to cause financial ruin.
"The redevelopment project proved ruinously expensive and had to be abandoned."
"The storms were ruinously destructive, leaving whole communities without shelter."
"The insurance costs made the business ruinously expensive to operate."
Ruinously has a double edge: it can describe devastation, or a price high enough to wreck a budget.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Words that share this root
How ruinously is actually used
Formal and emphatic. It is especially common in financial contexts, while its destructive sense is often literary.
Easily confused with ruinously
Ruinously is an adverb describing the manner or degree of something, whereas ruinous is an adjective meaning likely to cause ruin or severe damage.