Why this word is great
RUINATE — [Adjective, Verb] (adj) Falling into ruin; decrepit. | (verb) To reduce to ruins; to destroy. | (verb) To fall; to tumble. From Medieval Latin ruīnātus, past participle of ruīnāre ("to ruin"), from Latin ruina ("a collapse, ruin"). Unlike "decayed" (which implies gradual deterioration) or "demolish" (which suggests intent), "ruinate" carries the weight of both the act and the aftermath—whether by human hand or the slow violence of time. It is the sagging roof of an abandoned barn, the crumbled facade of a once-grand hotel, or the way a landslide takes a hillside in one shuddering exhale. To ruinate is to witness the moment when what was built becomes what is broken, and to know that all structures, given time, will follow.