Ruinated

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Brought to a condition of total disrepair and loss
2. Made unserviceable or obsolete through extensive damage or neglect
3. Damaged so badly that the original function or value is lost

Etymology: "Ruinated" is the past tense and past participle of "ruinate," a verb that came into English from Latin "ruinatus," the participle of "ruinare," meaning "to fall down" or "to collapse." The Latin verb itself grew from "ruina," a falling or collapse, which is also the source of the English noun "ruin." Because "ruinate" is a simple verb built on that Latin root, its history is straightforward: the sense of physical collapse stayed close to the surface, and the English word carries the same idea of something having fallen into wreckage. The adjective use of "ruinated," meaning very badly damaged, follows naturally from that participle, describing something that has already been brought down.