Ruiners

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of individuals or entities that cause destruction or harm to a situation, object, or relationship
2. People who significantly damage or spoil something valuable or beloved
3. Those responsible for bringing about decline or deterioration in circumstances or quality

Etymology: "Ruiners" is the plural of "ruiner", which is formed by adding the suffix "-er" to the noun "ruin". That suffix is one of English's oldest and most productive agent endings: it turns a verb or noun into a word for a person or thing that performs the action. The "-er" in "ruiner" came into English through a long chain, passing from Latin "-arius" through Old French "-ier" into Middle English "-er", so the ending itself is older than most of the vocabulary it now attaches to. "Ruin" is the base word, and it arrived in English from Old French, ultimately tracing back to Latin "ruina", meaning a collapse or fall. Its sense of a physical wreck, such as a fallen building, came first, and the meaning of destruction of prospects, health or reputation developed from that concrete image. "Ruiner" therefore names whoever or whatever brings about that collapse, whether a person ruining a family fortune or a practice ruining a city's reputation.

Synonyms: destroyers, wreckers, spoilers, devastators, detractors

Antonyms: builders, creators, restorers, improvers, enhancers