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Synonyms

rule out

British  

verb

  1. to dismiss from consideration

  2. to make impossible; preclude or prevent

    the rain ruled out outdoor games
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
rule out Idioms  

  1. Eliminate from consideration, exclude, as in The option of starting over again has been ruled out . [Second half of 1800s]

  2. Prevent, make impossible, as in The snowstorm ruled out our weekly rehearsal . [First half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Sarwar accused him of lying and both appeared to rule out co-operation.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

“We would not rule out lower margins in a long-term contract,” Arcaro wrote.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

It allows researchers to rule out the existence of axions with certain characteristics within the tested mass range, especially those that would interact more strongly with photons.

From Science Daily • Apr. 27, 2026

But he didn’t completely rule out a 50-gram version someday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

They could be anywhere within a two-mile radius, although I can rule out the empty marsh as an option.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.