ruinieren
to ruin
To destroy or severely damage something materially or financially.
EXAMPLE
Der Wasserschaden hat die gesamte Ernte ruiniert.
The water damage ruined the entire harvest.
ruinieren
to ruin
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Meanings
ruinieren
to ruin
To destroy a person's reputation, career, health, or plans.
EXAMPLE
Der Skandal hat seine politische Karriere vollständig ruiniert.
The scandal completely ruined his political career.
sich ruinieren
to ruin oneself
To drive oneself into financial or social ruin.
EXAMPLE
Er hat sich mit seiner Spielsucht finanziell ruiniert.
He financially ruined himself with his gambling addiction.
Usage tips
Word structure
Verbs ending in '-ieren' often come from foreign languages, like 'ruinieren' (to ruin) from French. These verbs are always regular and inseparable, which makes their conjugation easier.
EXAMPLE
Er ruinierte sein Hemd mit dem Rotwein.
He ruined his shirt with the red wine.
Sentence structure with accusative
'Ruinieren' (to ruin) is a transitive verb and almost always needs an accusative object. You always ruin someone or something.
EXAMPLE
Die schlechte Kritik hat den Film ruiniert.
The bad review ruined the film.
Reflexive use
When a person harms themselves, the verb is used reflexively: 'sich ruinieren' (to ruin oneself). It is often supplemented with the preposition 'mit' (with) and the dative to show what caused the damage.
EXAMPLE
Sie hat sich mit den Krediten für das Haus finanziell ruiniert.
She financially ruined herself with the loans for the house.
Typical collocations
In a figurative sense, 'ruinieren' (to ruin) is often used with abstract nouns. Typical combinations are 'den Ruf ruinieren' (to ruin one's reputation), 'die Gesundheit ruinieren' (to ruin one's health), 'die Karriere ruinieren' (to ruin one's career), or 'eine Überraschung ruinieren' (to ruin a surprise).
EXAMPLE
Durch seine Lügen hat er seinen guten Ruf ruiniert.
Through his lies, he ruined his good reputation.
Compare with
ruinieren vs zerstören
to destroy
Both words can say that something becomes unusable as a result of severe damage. Zerstören focuses more on the process or result of complete destruction, while ruinieren emphasizes the ruined condition caused by serious damage. Use zerstören for complete destruction and ruinieren when something is severely damaged or spoiled.
ruinieren
Der Brand ruinierte das alte Gartenhaus, sodass es unbrauchbar war.
The fire ruined the old garden shed, leaving it unusable.
zerstören
Der Brand zerstörte das alte Gartenhaus vollständig.
The fire completely destroyed the old garden shed.
In real life
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