mess up vs ruin

mess up

verb
  • To cause a problem with; to introduce an error or mistake in; to make muddled or confused; spoil; ruin. 

  • To damage; injure. 

  • To manhandle; beat up; rough up. 

  • To make a mess of; to untidy, disorder, soil, or muss. 

  • To botch, bungle; to perform poorly on. 

  • To cause (another person) to make unwanted mistakes in a given task, usually through distraction or obnoxious behavior. 

  • To make a mistake; to do something incorrectly; to perform poorly. 

  • To discombobulate, utterly confuse, or confound psychologically; to throw into a state of mental disarray. 

ruin

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

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

  • To make something less enjoyable or likeable. 

  • 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. 

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. 

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