To '''ruin''' something is destroy it completely so that it is no longer useful. This may apply not only to the financial or emotional state of a person but also to their health or the physical state of a building, city or institution.
A ruin can therefore be the remains of a building city or state (as in ''Roman ruins'') or the condition of having been wrecked or decayed. A politician's [[career]] may be left in ruins following the public disclosure of some unethical act.
Ruin can also refer to something that leads to the downfall of someone or something. [[Gin]] was often known as "Mother's ruin".