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
Tim Britton, New York Times, 30 May 2025
President Donald Trump's administration faced multiple legal setbacks on Wednesday, as three federal court rulings blocked significant elements of his immigration and trade policies.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 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
The game was delayed 18 minutes, first for the umpires to deliberate on what the proper ruling would be, then to clear the field of debris thrown from the Rogers Centre stands.
—Tim Britton, New York Times, 30 May 2025
President Donald Trump's administration faced multiple legal setbacks on Wednesday, as three federal court rulings blocked significant elements of his immigration and trade policies.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 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
-
But Hoover will remain in prison, serving a 200-year sentence for his state court conviction for murder.—
Claire Malon,
Chicago Tribune,
31 May 2025
-
Todd received a 12-year prison term, and Julie received a seven-year sentence.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
Noun
-
Trump specified in his order that recipients of federal funds from CPB could not, under his decree, send money to PBS and NPR.—
David Folkenflik,
NPR,
27 May 2025
-
The primary decree being that athletes are not employees.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
14 May 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
-
After Chauvin’s trial, a CBS News/YouGov poll in 2021 found that 75% of those surveyed thought that the jury had reached the right verdict in convicting him.—
Karlyn Bowman,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
-
Experts note that there's also a chance the FTC and Meta reach a settlement before the verdict comes, although the FTC supposedly previously rejected Meta's $1 billion settlement bid, The Wall Street Journal reported.—
Ashley Belanger – May 28,
ArsTechnica,
28 May 2025
Noun
-
Even states seen as safer for LGBTQ+ people have been navigating these edicts around trans athletes.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
-
The edict: get as many AI features into the operating system as possible.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
19 May 2025
Adjective
-
This choice was made to avoid general concepts and clichés about Indigenous peoples and to show that each people is a universe in itself, unique, with its own aesthetic, cultural, social and political repertoire.—
Kevin Giraud,
Variety,
7 June 2025
-
One former board member was Bean’s secretary, who had donated money to his wife’s campaigns for Knox County circuit, general sessions and juvenile court clerk, according to Betty Bean and local news reports at the time.—
Paige Pfleger,
ProPublica,
7 June 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
-
Although the faces were based on American participants, they were shown to people in both the U.S. and Turkey to see if judgments held up across cultures.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
-
Jackson, 37, argued Minnesota lacks the authority to register a Japanese child-support judgment for enforcement.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruling. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share