different between ruinous vs desperate

English

Etymology

From Middle English ruynous, from Old French ruinos, ruineus, from Latin ru?n?sus; surface analysis ruin +? -ous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??u?.?n?s/

Adjective

ruinous (comparative more ruinous, superlative most ruinous)

1. Causing ruin; destructive, calamitous
2. Extremely costly; so expensive as to cause financial ruin.

   They were forced to completely replace the roof at ruinous expense.

3. Characterized by ruin; ruined; dilapidated; as, an edifice, bridge, or wall in a ruinous state.

Synonyms

• (characterized by ruin): See Thesaurus:ramshackle

Derived terms

• ruinously
• ruinousness

Translations

Further reading

• ruinous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ruinous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• ruinous at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• urinous

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin d?sp?r?tus, past participle of d?sp?r? (“to be without hope”)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?d?sp(?)??t/

Adjective

desperate (comparative more desperate, superlative most desperate)

1. In dire need of something.

   I hadn't eaten in two days and was desperate for food.

2. Being filled with, or in a state of despair; hopeless.

3. Without regard to danger or safety; reckless; furious.

4. Beyond hope; causing despair; extremely perilous; irretrievable.

5. Extreme, in a bad sense; outrageous.
6. Extremely intense.

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Noun

desperate (plural desperates)

1. A person in desperate circumstances or who is at the point of desperation, such as a down-and-outer, addict, etc.

Derived terms

• desperation

Related terms

• despair
• desperado

Translations

Anagrams

• departees

Danish

Adjective

desperate

1. plural and definite singular attributive of desperat

Latin

Verb

d?sp?r?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of d?sp?r?

References

• desperate in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• desperate in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

desperate

1. definite singular of desperat
2. plural of desperat

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

desperate

1. definite singular of desperat
2. plural of desperat