arruinado
/arwiˈnado/
Ruined in Spanish is arruinado.
The adjective arruinado is used to describe someone or something in a state of ruin. While it can refer to physical destruction, it is very commonly used to describe someone who is financially bankrupt or broke.
Meaning: in a state of ruin (adj)
Which one should you use?
If you are describing a building or a physical structure that has fallen into a state of decay, the phrase en ruinas is often more natural than using the adjective arruinado. For emotional ruin or devastation, you might use the formal term devastado/a. If you want to say something is damaged or non-functional in an informal way, use estropeado/a. To describe something that has been spoiled in a colloquial manner, use chafado/a. Finally, desbaratado/a is used when something has been completely disorganized, disrupted or is in disarray.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective arruinado must agree in gender with the noun it describes. Use arruinada for feminine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/arwiˈnado/
Did you know?
- The word arruinado shares a linguistic ancestor with the English word 'ruin', both tracing back to the Latin 'ruina', which specifically described the act of falling down.
- If you want to say your plans or your mood was 'ruined' in a casual way, you might say they were chafado, which comes from the verb meaning 'to squash' or 'to flatten'.
- While arruinado refers to being broke, Spanish uses the term estar en la quiebra to describe official bankruptcy, which literally means 'to be in the break'.
Examples in context
- Él estará arruinado de por vida.He will be ruined for life.This sentence uses arruinado to describe a person's state for life.Tatoeba #1287622 by marcelostockle, translation #293070 by CK
- Ese hombre los ha arruinado completamente.That man ruined them completely.This sentence uses arruinado to show the effect someone has had on others.Tatoeba #2259238 by cueyayotl, translation #2259237 by _undertoad
- Todo está arruinado.Everything's ruined.This sentence uses arruinado to describe a general state of ruin.Tatoeba #4392931 by pchamorro, translation #2111844 by CK
- La iglesia histórica fue destrozada durante el terremoto.The historic church was ruined during the earthquake.
- La situación financiera ha dejado a la empresa destrozada.The financial situation has left the company ruined.
- La empresa familiar quedó arruinada tras años de mala administración.The family business was ruined after years of mismanagement.
- El mal clima arruinó la cosecha de este año.The bad weather ruined this year's harvest.
- El país quedó devastado tras el conflicto armado.The country was ruined after the armed conflict.
- Mi teléfono se ha estropeado y necesito arreglarlo.My phone is ruined, and I need to fix it.
- ¡Qué pena, se me ha chafado la tarta antes del cumpleaños!What a shame, the cake got ruined before the birthday!
- Mi plan de vacaciones se chafó debido a la lluvia constante.My vacation plan got ruined due to the constant rain.
- La fiesta de anoche dejó la casa completamente desbaratada.Last night's party left the house completely ruined.
- El proyecto quedó desbaratado después de la renuncia del líder.The project was ruined after the leader's resignation.
- El accidente dejó el coche completamente molido.The accident left the car completely ruined.
- Después de tanto trabajo, estoy molido/a.After so much work, I'm ruined/beat.
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Daniel are visiting an old abandoned building.
- SofíaMira este edificio, está totalmente arruinado.Look at this building, it is totally ruined.
- DanielSí, parece que nadie vive aquí hace años.Yes, it looks like nobody has lived here for years.
- SofíaEs triste ver el lugar así de arruinado.It's sad to see the place so ruined.
- DanielTienes razón, Sofía, es una pena.You are right, Sofía, it's a shame.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry arruinado, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
