as in to exclude
to prevent the participation, consideration, or inclusion of
another loss would rule them out of the tournament
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Recent Examples of rule out
However, law enforcement has been working hard to rule out some possibilities, and a lot of those have to do with the multiple ransom notes received.
—
Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 24 Apr. 2026
Thursday’s storms are unlikely to spur tornadoes, although one can’t be ruled out, according to the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center.
—Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 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
In the summer of 2024, still being treated to keep his cancer at bay, Andrej had suddenly become somewhat delirious, requiring hospital admission to rule out the possibility of infection or, worse, of the cancer having spread to his brain.
—Elisabeth Rosenthal, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rule out
Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 24 Apr. 2026
Thursday’s storms are unlikely to spur tornadoes, although one can’t be ruled out, according to the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center.
—Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 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
In the summer of 2024, still being treated to keep his cancer at bay, Andrej had suddenly become somewhat delirious, requiring hospital admission to rule out the possibility of infection or, worse, of the cancer having spread to his brain.
—Elisabeth Rosenthal, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rule out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rule out
Verb
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Under certain circumstances, these excluded victims and others who missed earlier filing deadlines can still sue the Sacklers directly.—
Craig R. McCoy,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2026
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The Chinese version of Apple Maps doesn’t recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan, and the Chinese version of iOS excludes Taiwan’s flag from the emoji keyboard.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Emerald Necklace Conservancy and a group of park neighbors suing the city to try to block the project have also argued that alcohol should be banned at the facility.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
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Racing’s indignation over that, as well as that of anger in the general public, prompted the formation by Congress of a bill that would ban the slaughter of horses in the United States.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Kompany is suspended, meaning he's barred from the dressing room and the touchline at Parc des Princes.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Apr. 2026
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Muslim worshippers, barred from praying at the Al-Aqsa mosque under wartime restrictions, had gathered outside the walls of the Old City for prayers.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Republicans in some states cannot just eliminate all those districts without spreading enough Democratic voters around to jeopardize their own incumbents.—
Nicholas Riccardi,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
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Each robot undergoes over 80 functional tests, including stress and burn-in exercises such as squats and jogging, to eliminate early failures.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Republican Steve Hilton leads recent polls while Democrats remain split across multiple candidates, creating fears the party could be shut out of the general election.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
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They've been shut out in six games already, or 20% of the time.—
David Troy OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This review is scheduled to be complete next year and has the potential to freeze out full-size pickups designed with no consideration for things like European pedestrian safety.—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
8 Apr. 2026
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Speaking of options, is there anything Democrats could do if they’re frozen out of the runoff?—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Section Two of the 1965 Voting Rights Act aimed to prevent mapmakers from weakening the voting power of racial minorities by either packing them into one district or spreading them out across too many districts to have an impact.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
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British monarchs are subject to rules and norms meant to prevent them from taking overtly political stands.—
Emma Caughlan,
NBC news,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The bill’s sponsors don’t seek to prohibit access to the emerging technology.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2026
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But if the estate is legally prohibited from depicting basically the entire second half of Jackson’s life, what would a second movie even be about?—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rule out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rule%20out. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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