as in excluding
to prevent the participation, consideration, or inclusion of
another loss would rule them out of the tournament
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Recent Examples of ruling out
But in the decades since PBHs were first proposed, astronomers found clever ways to narrow down their plausible range of masses, ruling out many scenarios in which these black holes could account for dark matter.
—
Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
Many researchers think quantum computers are at an advantage here, because the process of classically ruling out insignificant configurations can get prohibitively difficult.
—Quanta Magazine, 29 May 2026
Investigators are not ruling out weather or any other contributing factors.
—Francie Ebert, NBC news, 16 May 2026
Bonta, a Democrat, is running for another four-year term after ruling out a run for governor amid questions about his involvement in an FBI East Bay corruption case.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 24 Apr. 2026
The poll comes out as White House officials have repeatedly avoided ruling out a ground invasion.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 21 Mar. 2026
The Utah man accused of killing Charlie Kirk was back in court Friday as a state judge denied some efforts by his attorneys to restrict public access to court documents while not ruling out the possibility of closing portions of an upcoming hearing.
—CBS News, 14 Mar. 2026
Trump is not ruling out the possibility of military strikes on Iran.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 27 Feb. 2026
Smith for some time has dangled the prospect of running as an unconventional candidate against a field of career politicians, but there’s a big gap between not ruling out a run and actually doing it.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
Many researchers think quantum computers are at an advantage here, because the process of classically ruling out insignificant configurations can get prohibitively difficult.
—Quanta Magazine, 29 May 2026
Investigators are not ruling out weather or any other contributing factors.
—Francie Ebert, NBC news, 16 May 2026
Bonta, a Democrat, is running for another four-year term after ruling out a run for governor amid questions about his involvement in an FBI East Bay corruption case.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 24 Apr. 2026
The poll comes out as White House officials have repeatedly avoided ruling out a ground invasion.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 21 Mar. 2026
The Utah man accused of killing Charlie Kirk was back in court Friday as a state judge denied some efforts by his attorneys to restrict public access to court documents while not ruling out the possibility of closing portions of an upcoming hearing.
—CBS News, 14 Mar. 2026
Trump is not ruling out the possibility of military strikes on Iran.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 27 Feb. 2026
Smith for some time has dangled the prospect of running as an unconventional candidate against a field of career politicians, but there’s a big gap between not ruling out a run and actually doing it.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruling out
Verb
-
However, on the earnings call, the management team simply reiterated its guidance for fiscal 2030 next-generation security annual recurring revenue (NGS ARR) — a collection of businesses focused on subscriptions for its cloud-native services, and excluding hardware and legacy products.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
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IndieWire’s criteria for inclusion on the Specialized Chart looks at independent and mini-major distributors with films that at their widest release at any point are below 500 screens, excluding event cinema, re-releases, and major Bollywood or Chinese North American releases.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Steil, who is working with House GOP leadership on his bill, plans to attach the language to legislation banning lawmakers from buying stocks.—
Emily Wilkins,
CNBC,
5 June 2026
-
But blacklisting a company for maintaining civil rights protections, and then banning the military deployment of its AI hours later, shows that the federal government in this instance enables the harm that regulation is meant to prevent.—
Michael Gregory,
The Conversation,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
The Wildcats scored five unanswered goals in the final quarter, shutting out the Tar Heels for the last 15 minutes of the game.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 May 2026
-
The Ducks buckled down and were six seconds away from shutting out the Golden Knights.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
The Democratic Party’s nightmare scenario would involve both Republican candidates advancing to November’s general election, freezing out Democrats from the governor’s office for the first time since 2011.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Minnesota officials said on Thursday that the FBI is taking the lead on the investigation and freezing out state investigators.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
His latest heist was especially daring, at challenge used to one of the best catchers in the game at eliminating runners.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
7 June 2026
-
General Hypersonics’ ram accelerator technology accelerates payloads through a reusable launch tube powered by clean combustible gases — eliminating the need for a first-stage rocket booster and toxic propellants.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
Connecticut passed a law in 2024 barring medical debt from consumer credit reports.—
Katy Golvala,
Hartford Courant,
1 June 2026
-
That includes barring users under 18 from interacting with or creating chatbots.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ruling out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruling%20out. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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