as in decides
to give an opinion about (something at issue or in dispute)
the coach ruled on the question of whether an off-campus bar fight ought to disqualify someone from the team
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rules (on)
Verb
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Someone decides what counts as cultivation and what counts as nuisance, what gets watered and what gets pulled, what belongs in the planned bed and what must be removed before visitors arrive.
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Complaints against Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank go to the Israeli military's own prosecution service — the Military Advocate General — which decides whether to open an investigation, and whether any soldier should be charged.
Verb
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It is based on a process known as topology optimization, which is a computational method that determines the most efficient material placement.
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The protections for those who pass background checks initially last for up to 18 months but are automatically extended unless the government determines that conditions in a country have sufficiently improved.
Verb
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The order created an AI Litigation Task Force inside the DOJ, gave it until January 10 to stand up, and pointed it at any state rule the administration judges too heavy a burden on the technology.
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This time, judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie convinced him to give the show another shot, igniting his journey all the way to the finale.
Verb
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Which frontier model wins, which lab pulls ahead, which assistant the market finally settles on, none of it is easy to predict.
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Before My Morning Jacket settles into San Francisco for an October residency, frontman Jim James is turning inward.
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“Rules (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rules%20%28on%29. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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