(of a building) mostly destroyed
(figuratively) totally spoiled
After being found guilty of animal abuse, her reputation was in ruins.
His finances were in ruins after spending all his inheritance on cars and drugs.
A thousand years may scare form a state. An hour may lay it in ruins. Lord Byron
A man is a god in ruins. Ralph Waldo Emerson
A man is a god in ruins. Duke Ellington
What can I say? If I knew in 1934 what I know now, I would have remained in the navy. I didn't know that this was going to happen and I didn't know that Germany was going to lose the war and be in ruins. Oswald Pohl
We have to lock up people, without trial, whether they are communists, whether they are language chauvinists, whether they are religious extremists. If you don't do that, the country would be in ruins. Lee Kuan Yew
One sturdy house is worth a hundred in ruins. Kurdish Proverb