bulwark vs ruin

bulwark

noun
  • A defensive wall or rampart. 

  • A defense or safeguard. 

  • A breakwater. 

  • Any means of defence or security. 

  • The planking or plating along the sides of a nautical vessel above her gunwale that reduces the likelihood of seas washing over the gunwales and people being washed overboard. 

verb
  • To fortify something with a wall or rampart. 

  • To provide protection of defense for something. 

ruin

noun
  • The state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed. 

  • A change that destroys or defeats something; destruction; overthrow. 

  • The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle. 

  • The act of ruining something. 

  • Complete financial loss; bankruptcy. 

  • Something that leads to serious trouble or destruction. 

verb
  • To seduce or debauch, and thus harm the social standing of. 

  • To make something less enjoyable or likeable. 

  • To upset or overturn the plans or progress of, or to have a disastrous effect on something. 

  • To cause the fiscal ruin of; to bankrupt or drive out of business. 

  • To destroy or make something no longer usable. 

  • To reveal the ending of (a story); to spoil. 

How often have the words bulwark and ruin occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )