Apoleia denotes a ruinous outcome, whether the destruction facing persons or the waste of something valuable.

The attested use most often concerns a ruinous or destructive outcome toward which people, opponents, or the wild animal are headed or prepared. In the ointment scenes, it instead names the perceived waste caused by using a valuable substance.

1. Ruinous outcome or destructive end · dominant

   The accusative singular appears as the outcome or destination in clauses about a broad road leading toward it, vessels prepared for it, and the wild animal going toward it. In Philippians 3:19 the nominative singular stands in the clause identifying their end; the APB renders it "Their end is destruction."

   Matthew 7:13Romans 9:22Philippians 3:19Revelation 17:81 Timothy 6:92 Peter 3:16
2. Waste of valuable ointment · occasional

   In the two questions prompted by the ointment, the nominative singular names what the observers regard as having occurred through its use. In Matthew 26:8 the APB renders the question "For what purpose is this waste?"; Mark 14:4 renders the corresponding complaint with "this destruction of the ointment."

   Matthew 26:8Mark 14:4

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the term with "destruction," while also using "ruin" in 1 Timothy 6:9, "perish" in Acts 8:20 and John 17:12, and "waste" in Matthew 26:8. These renderings indicate the verse-level presentation rather than fixed English equivalents.