Ruinates

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Causes severe damage or destruction to something; results in the loss of value or function; renders something spoiled or unfit for use
2. Brings about significant deterioration or collapse; transforms something into a state of disrepair or decay; leads to the downfall or complete impairment of an object or condition
3. Inflicts lasting harm or devastation upon; degrades or ruins the original state or quality; reduces something to a ruined or unusable condition

Etymology: "Ruinates" is simply the third-person singular present form of "ruinate," so its history is that of the verb it belongs to. "Ruinate" comes from the participle stem of the Latin verb "ruinare," meaning to fall down or collapse, which is itself derived from "ruina" (a collapse or downfall). The sense was physical from the start: something that tumbles to the ground or crashes apart. Over time, English speakers carried that image of collapse into broader territory, so that to ruinate something is to bring it to wreckage, whether a plan, a reputation, or a dinner. The verb is an uncommon, somewhat literary choice today, and a reader meeting it will find it sits comfortably beside more familiar words like "ruin" and "ruined," which share the same Latin ancestry.

Synonyms: ruins, wrecks

Antonyms: builds, restores