1
as in sentence
a decision made by a court or tribunal regarding a case it has heard
the controversial ruling by the state's supreme court caused an uproar
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in decree
an order publicly issued by an authority
the FCC's ruling regarding the broadcasting of obscenities
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in prevailing
held by or applicable to a majority of the people
the ruling opinion on premarital sex
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in governing
to exercise authority or power over
a sea captain who ruled his ship sternly but justly
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in controlling
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 ruling
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 22 June 2025
The ruling came at the same time an immigration judge in Jena, Louisiana, denied Khalil's request for asylum and ordered him to remain detained -- but U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz's order supersedes that.
—Armando Garcia, ABC News, 21 June 2025
Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill, 12 May 2025
The Chinese Communist Party holds regular exchanges with numerous ruling African political parties.
—Grant T. Harris, Foreign Affairs, 21 Dec. 2018
Matthew F. Erskine, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
However, spring begins on a sour note, as Venus—your ruling planet—will station retrograde in Aries as of March 1.
—Roya Backlund, StyleCaster, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for ruling
Noun
That lawyer and law firm will no longer receive any type of favorable judgments and rulings and all cases will go against them for daring to expose judicial malfeasance.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 22 June 2025
The ruling came at the same time an immigration judge in Jena, Louisiana, denied Khalil's request for asylum and ordered him to remain detained -- but U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz's order supersedes that.
—Armando Garcia, ABC News, 21 June 2025
Adjective
The governor and her husband are both members of the ruling Morena party.
—Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill, 12 May 2025
The Chinese Communist Party holds regular exchanges with numerous ruling African political parties.
—Grant T. Harris, Foreign Affairs, 21 Dec. 2018
Verb
This decision is part of broader litigation challenging the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), with several district courts ruling in favor of the Treasury's position on the CTA's constitutionality.
—Matthew F. Erskine, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
However, spring begins on a sour note, as Venus—your ruling planet—will station retrograde in Aries as of March 1.
—Roya Backlund, StyleCaster, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for ruling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruling
Noun
-
Buckley’s diction was twisty, his sentences often a yard short of the target, but his core arguments were clear.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
-
Indeed, the five guys have a great rapport with each other, making jokes on the back of each other’s comments and sometimes finishing each other’s sentences.—
Kimberly Nordyke,
HollywoodReporter,
23 June 2025
Noun
-
So, the official divorce decree has been delayed because of me starting in Sacramento, and per the terms of agreement, there are some nuances and whatnot.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
21 June 2025
-
For two years, news of the Emancipation Proclamation was kept from enslaved people across the South, until Major General Gordon Granger made the long-overdue final enforcement of the decree in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.—
Nuri Kino,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 June 2025
Verb
-
The death, in a hospital, was announced by the International Chess Federation, the game’s governing body.—
Dylan Loeb McClain,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Whether your board can discontinue maintenance hinges on the co-op’s governing documents and the approval of any change by the requisite voting interests.—
Gary Singer,
Sun Sentinel,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The verdict will go a long way toward shaping the dynamic in 2028.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
22 June 2025
-
After Heard filed an appeal of the verdict, the two announced separately that the case had been settled with the money paid by Heard going to charity.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
22 June 2025
Noun
-
President Trump’s new travel ban has sparked widespread outrage and fear in New York’s sprawling Haitian community, by far the biggest local diaspora group affected by the edict aimed at 12 nations.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
8 June 2025
-
In the meantime, however, these discriminatory government edicts will continue to violate Coloradans’ rights of free speech and free exercise of religion, and adversely impact the privacy, safety, professional conduct, and even health of those who disagree with the government’s ideology.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
7 June 2025
Adjective
-
Performance Trade-Offs: Real-time applications face inherent constraints due to the computational overhead of symbolic reasoning, knowledge graph traversal and the general reduction in inference speeds compared to pure neural approaches.—
Anuradha Weeraman,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
-
The Contour Face is fabulous for those interested in general regeneration or alleviating signs of aging, but those with acne-prone skin should consider its Clear mask which utilizes blue light, clinically proven to kill acne-causing bacteria.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
1 July 2025
Verb
-
The drug may achieve these benefits by regulating cellular growth and metabolism.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Dec. 2024
-
On the other hand, if your social media app of choice elicits feelings of insufficiency, and self-control resources are burned up by exerting will power to avoid consuming products, or regulating hard emotions, than that experience is important to notice.—
Ellen Choi,
Forbes,
30 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Few would understand how to assess the quality of judgment and decision-making of the organization based on character.—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2025
-
The reasons are complicated, ranging from aging sidewalks to juries’ tendency to award larger judgments to possible shifts in legal strategy at the city attorney’s office to an increase in the sheer number of lawsuits against the city.—
Noah Goldberg,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruling. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share