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arruinar

to ruin

verb ah-rrwee-NAHR Rare

Also means

to bankrupt

Usage Note

Arruinar covers both financial ruin (arruinó la empresa) and broader destruction (la lluvia arruinó la cosecha). The reflexive arruinarse means to go broke or to be ruined oneself. It is stronger and more total than estropear (to spoil/damage), which suggests something repairable.

Examples

"El fraude arruinó a toda la familia."

Natural Translation

The fraud ruined the entire family.

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