How to spell ruinous

hear itru·in·ous/'ruənəs/adjectiveSchwa and roots

What it means: Badly damaged or destroyed.

In a sentence: The storm left the playground in a ruinous state.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as ruinious or ruinouse.

Same family: ruin, ruined, ruining, ruinously, destructive. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Ruinous” comes from the Latin word “ruina,” meaning a collapse or downfall. English first used “ruinous” in the 15th century to describe things that cause serious destruction, especially to buildings or fortunes.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

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