as in decides
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 rules (on)
Verb
-
Naturally, Liz decides to create her own rom-com HAE and rope Wes into helping her win Michael’s heart by pretending to fake date each other.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026 -
How the jury weighs Guevara’s refusal to answer questions could factor heavily into how much the city will eventually pay out in the more than two dozen other lawsuits that are still pending against him — or whether the Law Department decides to roll the dice and take some of them to trial.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Candidates don’t always honor their party’s endorsement and will sometimes advance to the August primary election, which officially determines the party nominee.—
Alex Derosier,
Twin Cities,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Each agency determines what work is essential or not.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Alongside him, judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie will return for their second year as a trio.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
9 Feb. 2026
-
His component score, which judges a skater’s composition, presentation and skating skills each up to 10 points, also was higher than every other competitor.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
And as that low light settles in, my whole body shifts in spirit.—
Josh Jackson,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
After this brief stretch of colder weather, a steady warming trend is expected from Thursday through Sunday as the ridge of high pressure to our west slowly shifts east and settles over Texas.—
Mary Wasson,
Austin American Statesman,
4 Feb. 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
“Rules (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rules%20%28on%29. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
