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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Now, technology decides everything.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026 -
Deborah decides to pursue treatment after all, if only to buy enough time to work a little more.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
Verb
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This second parameter determines how many neutrinos can be created, the neutrino flux (the intensity of a stream), and how many gamma-rays are created.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
28 May 2026
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Since not all companies think this way, entrepreneur Jordan Buich dedicates much of his time to fleshing out the infrastructure that determines how companies become understood, trusted, and valued by the market.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
Verb
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The truck just leans into the work and gets on with life like a ranch foreman who drinks coffee black and silently judges your hitch setup.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
27 May 2026
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Portnoy travels to cities around the world and judges their pizza scene by taking a single bite (or more) of a cheese pizza and giving it a review.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
26 May 2026
Verb
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As the dust settles on a campaign that began with high hopes and ended with a sense of blessed relief, here is The Athletic’s end-of-season review.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
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Traditional finance keeps the issuer of an instrument separate from the infrastructure that clears and settles it.—
Zennon Kapron,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Rules (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rules%20%28on%29. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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