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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In the original script, Laura, despite becoming aware of the twisted role into which she’s been cast, decides to stay with Betty’s family.—
Holden Seidlitz,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026 -
The Martinez Lake temperature won’t be deemed a new national March heat record unless the National Centers for Environment Information decides to investigate it.—
Chris Dolce,
CNN Money,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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That’s what determines whether a crowd stays stable or tips toward danger.—
Yook JiHun,
Popular Science,
26 Mar. 2026
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Labin details the elaborate process of elimination that determines which socks to bring to the festival each year.—
Scott Neuman,
NPR,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The program, which launched last month, gave half a dozen Los Angeles County civil court judges access to AI software called Learned Hand.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
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With that in mind, here are the top 10 starters with at least 100 pitches thrown this spring so far, ranked by Stuff+, which judges pitches by their physical qualities alone.—
Eno Sarris,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Lisa Marie Malloy, Roy Whitaker, United States, 2026 Darkness settles over Little Egypt.—
William Earl,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
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While the Justice Department settles most tax matters civilly through fines, when prosecutors do charge criminal fraud, their conviction rate is over 90%.—
Avi Asher-Schapiro,
ProPublica,
24 Mar. 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 28 Mar. 2026.
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