laying waste vs ruining

laying waste and ruining both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
laying waste	Yes	No	No	No
ruining	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, laying waste and ruining are synonyms defined as:

laying waste and ruining: destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined

Other synonyms of laying waste include ruin, ruination, wrecking.

laying waste (noun)	ruining (noun)
destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined	destruction achieved by causing something to be wrecked or ruined