mindmap root((摧毁)) ruin suggests collapse and is applicable to whatever has given way or fallen apart through decay, corruption, neglect, or loss: the old house had fallen to ~. havoc suggests an agent that pillages, destroys, or ravages and the resulting confusion and disorder: the ~ of the earthquake. （pillage劫掠, 比sack程度弱，ravage破坏implies depredation and destruction，如a hurricane that ravaged the Gulf coast飓风破坏了墨西哥湾海岸） devastation implies a widespread laying waste, as by war or natural catastrophe, but it is also applicable to something that overwhelms an individual with comparable decisiveness: tried to overcome the ~ of losing a spouse. destruction suggests an utter undoing by or as if by demolition or annihilation: saw the rapid ~ of his entire life's work.