as in to decide
to give an opinion about (something at issue or in dispute)
the coach ruled on the question of whether an off-campus bar fight ought to disqualify someone from the team
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rule (on)
Verb
-
The Padres got a force at second base while Meidroth decided to take off for home.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
2 May 2026 -
Unlike many of her peers, Pau decided to maintain a professional day job while pursuing her artistic practice.—
Pauline J. Yao,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), which investigates complaints about the NHS, determined that a local health body was denying women, but not men, funding for sterilization.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
2 May 2026
-
Their protections may have been further eroded with a precedent decision recently in which the Board of Immigration Appeals determined that DACA status alone is not enough to stop deportation.—
Hallie Golden,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Let what surfaces settle before making your next move.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2026
-
Moses could put his real game face on and settle into his pre-race routine—even if a bit rushed—to get Pal in the zone, and then send him off into the Valley of Roses to pick up his jockey, then on to the starting gate.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The book’s shambolic rhythms pay off, as pressure slowly builds on Josh to join in instead of judging.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
-
LLMs judge whether a request is malicious by reading the request itself.—
Evan Johnson,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Apr. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Rule (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rule%20%28on%29. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
