Ruin vs Undermine - What's the difference?
ruin | undermine |
The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle.
*(Joseph Addison) (1672–1719)
*:The Veian and the Gabian towers shall fall, / And one promiscuous ruin' cover all; / Nor, after length of years, a stone betray / The place where once the very ' ruins lay.
*(Joseph Stevens Buckminster) (1751-1812)
*:The labour of a day will not build up a virtuous habit on the ruins of an old and vicious character.
*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=Foreword (lb) The state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed.
:
(lb) Something that leads to serious trouble or destruction.
:
*(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
*:The errors of young men are the ruin of business.
*
*:The Bat—they called him the Bat.. Most lone wolves had a moll at any rate—women were their ruin —but if the Bat had a moll, not even the grapevine telegraph could locate her.
(lb) A fall or tumble.
*(George Chapman) (1559-1634)
*:His ruin startled the other steeds.
A change that destroys or defeats something; destruction; overthrow.
:
*(Thomas Gray) (1716-1771)
*:Ruin seize thee, ruthless king!
to cause the ruin of.
* 1883 ,
To destroy or make something no longer usable.
* Longfellow
To upset or mess up the plans or progress of, or to put into disarray; to spoil.
To dig underneath (something), to make a passage or for destructive or military purposes; to sap.
* 2009 , (Diarmaid MacCulloch), A History of Christianity , Penguin 2010, p. 312:
(figuratively) To weaken or work against; to hinder, sabotage.
* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 19, author=Josh Halliday, work=the Guardian
, title=
As a noun ruin
is .As a verb undermine is
to dig underneath (something), to make a passage or for destructive or military purposes; to sap.ruin
English
Noun
(en noun)citation, passage=A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.}}
Verb
(en verb)- In one way, indeed, he bade fair to ruin us; for he kept on staying week after week, and at last month after month, so that all the money had been long exhausted...
- He ruined his new white slacks by accidentally spilling oil on them.
- By the fireside there are old men seated, / Seeling ruined cities in the ashes.
- My car breaking down just as I was on the road ruined my vacation.
Synonyms
* destroy * fordo * ruinate * wreckAntonyms
* build * construct * found * produceExternal links
* * * ----undermine
English
Verb
(undermin)- Martin, for instance, had on one occasion undermined a tree sacred to old gods, then stood in the path of its fall, but forced it to fall elsewhere by making the sign of the Cross.
Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?, passage=The growing use of social media to spread anger and dissent in the Arab world has been hailed by western governments as one of the chief justifications for a completely unfettered internet. The US is reportedly funding the secret rollout of technology in Iran in an effort to undermine internet censors in the country.}}