different between ruinous vs harmful

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

Alternative forms

• harmfull (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English harmful, from Old English *hearmful (suggested by hearmfull?? (“harmful; hurtful”)), equivalent to harm +? -ful.

Cognate with German harmvoll, Danish harmfuld, Swedish harmfull.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?h??mfl?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?h??mfl?/

Adjective

harmful (comparative harmfuller or more harmful, superlative harmfullest or most harmful)

1. of a kind likely to be damaging; injurious

   Wear a hat to protect your skin from harmful sunlight.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "harmful" is often applied: effect, consequence, impact, influence, emission, chemical, ingredient, substance, gas, agent, additive, drug, radiation, dust, organism, plant, animal, insect, action, act, behavior, component, content, activity, interference, use.

Synonyms

• injurious; see also Thesaurus:harmful

Antonyms

• beneficial
• harmless

Translations

See also

• harm