as in excludes
to prevent the participation, consideration, or inclusion of
another loss would rule them out of the tournament
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 rules out
And to me, that’s very alien to imagine that the Universe could be not following some laws, that there isn’t some set of rules out there that determines what really happens?
—
Big Think, 29 Oct. 2025
None of this rules out an agreement on Chinese investments in the US as part of a broader trade deal.
—semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2025
That rules out fanciful speculation that the likes of Timothée Chalamet, Glen Powell, Austin Butler, Jacob Elordi and others who don’t hail from UK shores are in the running.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2025
Well, that rules out a whole lot of major villains that Reeves may have adapted, after previously doing high profile ones like The Riddler, Catwoman (well, sometimes-villain) and the all-time great Colin Farrell Penguin.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
This approach helps untangle cause from coincidence – and rules out confounding factors better than with observational studies.
—New Atlas, 12 Aug. 2025
Big Think, 29 Oct. 2025
None of this rules out an agreement on Chinese investments in the US as part of a broader trade deal.
—semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2025
That rules out fanciful speculation that the likes of Timothée Chalamet, Glen Powell, Austin Butler, Jacob Elordi and others who don’t hail from UK shores are in the running.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2025
Well, that rules out a whole lot of major villains that Reeves may have adapted, after previously doing high profile ones like The Riddler, Catwoman (well, sometimes-villain) and the all-time great Colin Farrell Penguin.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
This approach helps untangle cause from coincidence – and rules out confounding factors better than with observational studies.
—New Atlas, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rules out
Verb
-
Sunday's figure excludes the United Arab Emirates share of output, which officially departed OPEC on May 1.—
Azhar Sukri,Mike Sheen,
CNBC,
3 May 2026
-
The statement notably excludes Anthropic, which has been in dispute with the Pentagon over guardrails for how the military could use its artificial intelligence tools.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
The measure has some exceptions, such as undercover operations, SCUBA teams, bomb squads, and SWAT teams, but broadly bans masks.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
1 May 2026
-
In March, Sherrill signed three bills, including the Law Enforcement Officer Protection Act, which bans law enforcement officers, including ICE agents, from wearing masks in New Jersey.—
CBS New York Team,
CBS News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The vote requests that the department’s all-civilian watchdog adopt new guidelines similar to San Francisco, which bars police officers from pulling people over for broken taillights and other minor equipment violations unless there is a safety threat.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
-
The law bars anyone from practicing medicine without a valid license.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Use a Tape Measure A tape measure eliminates the guesswork when figuring out how far apart to plant tomatoes.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
2 May 2026
-
What wage insurance does is to take the kind of concept which was enacted by Congress in the early ’70s and apply it to a different cause for layoffs, the technological innovation which eliminates work.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
In addition, the bill prevents all law enforcement officers, including from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE, from wearing masks, except in limited situations.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
4 May 2026
-
At the same time, the government should negotiate medication, services and treatment fees for all; this prevents price gouging.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
Republicans and Democrats divided on immigration Democrats were in lockstep on most issues related to immigration, including opposing Immigration & Customs Enforcement raids and supporting the sanctuary law that prohibits police from coordinating with the federal agency.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
-
Facebook, led by Silicon Valley billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, said its Restricted Goods and Services Policy prohibits content involving the trade in endangered and protected animals and plants.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rules out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rules%20out. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
