ruled

verb

past tense of rule
1
as in governed
to exercise authority or power over a sea captain who ruled his ship sternly but justly

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in controlled
to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression) a monarch who is known for ruling her emotions with an iron hand

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ruled But the review team should never have allowed the touchdown to stand, because the whistle blew on the play to signal that Bachmeier had been ruled down. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026 Means ruled earlier this year that Kay could introduce new details pertaining to the evidence that led to his 2022 conviction. — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026 The trial for a man accused of fatally running down his 17-year-old girlfriend in Burlington in 2023 continued Monday with his attorney disputing the findings of the medical examiner who ruled the death a homicide. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 2 Nov. 2026 In that decision, the high court ruled that the state's exclusion of religious schools from the program violated the First Amendment. — Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026 An autopsy conducted Sunday ruled his death a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds. — Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026 Cops were looking to interview Powlis as early as November 2024, sources said, though Panetti’s death was not ruled a homicide until December 2025. — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 2 Nov. 2026 He has been ruled ineligible by the Southeastern Conference for the season following his court proceedings to attempt to play for MU. — Pj Green november 2, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2026 The New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. — Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruled
  1. governed
  2. controlled
  3. contained
  4. regulated
  5. curbed
  6. kept
  7. restrained
  8. measured
Verb
  • The white South African group governed the nation for decades under a brutal system of segregation known as apartheid, which kept the Black majority an impoverished underclass until the system was dismantled in 1994.
    — Sharon Lerner, ProPublica, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Unlike conventional computer chips that process data as standard binary switches, quantum processors rely on physical circuits governed by quantum physics.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of governed
Verb
  • She was expected to satisfy the white executives who controlled her career, the Black audiences who wanted better representation, and her own ambitions as an actress.
    — Serena Turner, Vanity Fair, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Democrats have controlled the comptroller’s office every year since 1975.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of controlled
Verb
  • Surveillance video recovered by the Daily News shows a scrap collector finding the black cloth case used to hold a musical instrument that contained Owusu’s body.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Prosecutors said the bag also contained two white envelopes stuffed with $15,000 in cash — the remainder of Meiser’s payment.
    — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of contained
Verb
  • Buying into Smack is a legitimate investment regulated by the SEC.
    — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 5 Nov. 2026
  • There is currently a split among federal courts as to whether Kalshi, Polymarket and other companies can be regulated by states’ sports betting laws or whether federal law for commodities preempts states.
    — Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of regulated
Verb
  • Inflation and economic pressure have led more Americans to eat at home or turn to fast food for a cheaper option, while the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic has curbed customers’ appetites.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
  • China has curbed exports of seven medium and heavy rare earths since last year, requiring exporters to obtain licenses.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of curbed
Verb
  • These laws have kept the deer population under control over the last decade.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The city’s redevelopment agency kept the land on which the park sat until 2019, when it was forced to sell after the state abolished redevelopment agencies, and the city was not in a financial position to outbid Cedar Fair for the land.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of kept
Verb
  • Employee preparing food does not have their hair effectively restrained.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026
  • But he has been uncharacteristically restrained in using his megaphone to talk about the actual elections themselves.
    — Shahrzad Rasekh Patrick Cooley Mark Bonamo Kevin Williams, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of restrained
Verb
  • The technical article did not provide enough detail to determine how broadly the result applies, how task quality was measured or whether the approach performs consistently across different software development scenarios.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026
  • There, planetary scientists Carl Agee and Karen Ziegler measured its oxygen isotopes.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of measured

Browse Nearby Words

rule
ruled
ruled (on)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ruled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruled. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of wabi-sabi

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All