as in excluding
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 ruling out
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
Investigators are not ruling out sabotage carried out by anarchists, citing similarities to the sabotage that targeted the French network during the 2024 Paris Olympics, when France’s high-speed train lines were targeted by multiple malicious acts including arson.
—Antonia Mortensen, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026
Once there, Glick quickly gathered information that contradicted claims the authorities had made in ruling out foul play.
—Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
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
Investigators are not ruling out sabotage carried out by anarchists, citing similarities to the sabotage that targeted the French network during the 2024 Paris Olympics, when France’s high-speed train lines were targeted by multiple malicious acts including arson.
—Antonia Mortensen, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026
Once there, Glick quickly gathered information that contradicted claims the authorities had made in ruling out foul play.
—Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruling out
Verb
-
Along with Luz’s friend, Donnie (Wes Chatham), Aunt Clare helped Luz devise a system to seek vengeance on each person on a kill list who was known to be a part of Durand’s trafficking circle, excluding herself.—
Demetrius Patterson,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Mar. 2026
-
That’s about the same as Disney’s streaming services, excluding ESPN.—
Bloomberg,
Oc Register,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Websites would face the choice between banning lawful speech or facing onerous penalties.—
Agustina Vergara Cid,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Despite City efforts like banning right turns on red and installing speed bumps and red light and speed cameras, deaths still occur.—
John Ramos,
CBS News,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But Australia has, thus far, not allowed a run in the round robin runs allowed tiebreaker, by virtue of shutting out Chinese Taipei to start the tournament.—
Maria Torres,
New York Times,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Montverde junior midfielder Kendal Seays credited Strausbaugh and the defense for shutting out Cardinal Gibbons.—
Bill Kemp,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The incident demonstrates that freezing out a critical voice through administrative pressure constitutes an authoritarian suppression of dissent, with the blocking itself becoming more newsworthy and damaging to the administration than the governor’s original remarks would have been.—
George Skelton,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 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
-
Trump has said the war is aimed at eliminating Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
15 Mar. 2026
-
In other words, eliminating them from the animal kingdom would be like yanking an entire tier of Jenga blocks out of the middle of the tower.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Angwin’s lawsuit, which seeks to empower a class of authors whose names were used by the company without their consent, cites California and New York laws barring the use of anyone’s name or likeness for commercial purposes without their consent.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Their goal is to develop a young player by giving him substantial reps at his preferred position, something Donovan is eschewing in preference of chasing late-season wins for a team that will not — barring a miracle (or disaster) — make the playoffs.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ruling out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruling%20out. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
