ruling

[ roo-ling ]

/ ˈru lɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ruling ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an authoritative decision, as one by a judge on a debated point of law.

the act of drawing straight lines with a ruler.

ruled lines.

adjective

governing or dominating: the ruling party.

controlling; predominating: the ruling factor in recovery from an illness.

widespread; prevalent: ruling prices; ruling values.

Nearby words

ruler, rulership, rules, rules committee, rules of order, ruling, ruling elder, ruling grade, ruly, rum, rum rebellion

Origin of ruling

1175–1225; Middle English (gerund); see rule, -ing¹, -ing²

Related formsnon·rul·ing, noun, adjective

Definition for ruling (2 of 2)

rule

[ rool ]

/ rul /

noun

a principle or regulation governing conduct, action, procedure, arrangement, etc.: the rules of chess.

the code of regulations observed by a religious order or congregation: the Franciscan rule.

the customary or normal circumstance, occurrence, manner, practice, quality, etc.: the rule rather than the exception.

control, government, or dominion: under the rule of a dictator.

tenure or conduct of reign or office: during the rule of George III.

a prescribed mathematical method for performing a calculation or solving a problem.

ruler(def 2).

(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Norma.

Printing. a thin, type-high strip of metal, for printing a solid or decorative line or lines.

Law.

a formal order or direction made by a court, as for governing the procedure of the court (general rule) or for sending the case before a referee (special rule).
a legal principle.
a court order in a particular case.

rules, Penology. (formerly)

a fixed area in the neighborhood of certain prisons within which certain prisoners were allowed to live.
the freedom of such an area.

Obsolete. behavior.

verb (used with object), ruled, rul·ing.

to control or direct; exercise dominating power, authority, or influence over; govern: to rule the empire with severity.

to decide or declare judicially or authoritatively; decree: The judge ruled that he should be exiled.

to mark with lines, especially parallel straight lines, with the aid of a ruler or the like: to rule paper.

to mark out or form (a line) by this method: to rule lines on paper.

to be superior or preeminent in (a specific field or group); dominate by superiority; hold sway over: For centuries, England ruled the seas.

verb (used without object), ruled, rul·ing.

to exercise dominating power or influence; predominate.

to exercise authority, dominion, or sovereignty.

to make a formal decision or ruling, as on a point at law.

to be prevalent or current: Higher prices ruled throughout France.

Verb Phrases

rule out,

to prove to be unrelated or not for consideration; eliminate; exclude: to rule out the possibility of error.
to make impossible or impracticable: The rainstorm ruled out the holiday camping.

Origin of rule

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English riule, reule < Old French riule < Latin rēgula straight stick, pattern (see regula); (v.) Middle English riwlen, reulen, rewellen < Old French riuler, rieuler, ruler < Late Latin rēgulāre, derivative of rēgula

SYNONYMS FOR rule

1 standard, law, ruling, guide, precept, order.

4 command, domination, mastery, sway, authority, direction.

14 order, judge.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rule ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

in·ter·rule, verb (used with object), in·ter·ruled, in·ter·rul·ing.self-rule, nounsub·rule, nounun·der·rule, noun

un·der·rule, verb, un·der·ruled, un·der·rul·ing.un·ruled, adjectivewell-ruled, adjective

Synonym study

1. See principle. 13. Rule, administer, command, govern, manage mean to exercise authoritative guidance or direction. Rule implies the exercise of authority as by a sovereign: to rule a kingdom. Administer places emphasis on the planned and orderly procedures used: to administer the finances of an institution. Command suggests military authority and the power to exact obedience; to be in command of: to command a ship. To govern is authoritatively to guide or direct persons or things, especially in the affairs of a large administrative unit: to govern a state. To manage is to conduct affairs, i.e., to guide them in a unified way toward a definite goal, or to direct or control people, often by tact, address, or artifice: to manage a business.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ruling

That ruling is binding law in the United States, no matter what the former vice president says.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Dec. 14|PunditFact.com|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The constitutional problem with this ruling, experts say, is that it places an extra burden on women for being pregnant.
States Slap Pregnant Women With Harsher Jail Sentences|Emily Shire|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“It is well established that a fetus is not a ‘person’; rather it is a sui generis organism,” the ruling stated.
Court Says Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Isn’t a Crime|Elizabeth Picciuto|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That ruling was affirmed in a final judgment by the Afghan courts, which the Afghan Supreme Court confirmed in 2013.
Special Forces’ $77M ‘Hustler’ Hits Back|Kevin Maurer|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Muslim leaders have accused the ruling elite of carrying out what they see as religious persecution.
Al-Shabab’s Anti-Christian Slaughter|Margot Kiser|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The mode of life of the ruling class will necessarily differ widely from that of the ruled.
Aristotle and Ancient Educational Ideals|Thomas Davidson
Varley would have explained to him that his ruling sign being Leo, he required like all lions the warm sunny south.
William Blake|Charles Gardner
He is the ruling power of external religion, as the High Priestess is the prevailing genius of the esoteric, withdrawn power.
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot|L. W. de Laurence
Gayety, wit, and ingenuity are their ruling character: they aspire not to the sublime; still less to the pathetic.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part E.|David Hume
I won't have one of these creatures that have been ruling here—except the cook.
The Prisoner|Alice Brown

British Dictionary definitions for ruling (1 of 2)

ruling

/ (ˈruːlɪŋ) /

noun

a decision of someone in authority, such as a judge

one or more parallel ruled lines

adjective

controlling or exercising authoritythe ruling classes

prevalent or predominant

British Dictionary definitions for ruling (2 of 2)

rule

/ (ruːl) /

noun

an authoritative regulation or direction concerning method or procedure, as for a court of law, legislative body, game, or other human institution or activityjudges' rules; play according to the rules

the exercise of governmental authority or controlthe rule of Caesar

the period of time in which a monarch or government has powerhis rule lasted 100 days

a customary form or procedure; regular course of actionhe made a morning swim his rule

the rule the common order of things; normal conditionviolence was the rule rather than the exception

a prescribed method or procedure for solving a mathematical problem, or one constituting part of a computer program, usually expressed in an appropriate formalism

a formal expression of a grammatical regularity in a linguistic description of a language

any of various devices with a straight edge for guiding or measuring; rulera carpenter's rule

a printed or drawn character in the form of a long thin line
another name for dash 1 (def. 13) en rule; em rule
a strip of brass or other metal used to print such a line

Christianity a systematic body of prescriptions defining the way of life to be followed by members of a religious order

law an order by a court or judge

as a rule normally or ordinarily

verb

to exercise governing or controlling authority over (a people, political unit, individual, etc)he ruled for 20 years; his passion for her ruled his life

(when tr, often takes a clause as object) to decide authoritatively; decreethe chairman ruled against the proposal

(tr) to mark with straight parallel lines or make one straight line, as with a rulerto rule a margin

(tr) to restrain or controlto rule one's temper

(intr) to be customary or prevalentchaos rules in this school

(intr) to be pre-eminent or superiorfootball rules in the field of sport

(tr) astrology (of a planet) to have a strong affinity with certain human attributes, activities, etc, associated with (one or sometimes two signs of the zodiac)Mars rules Aries

rule the roost or rule the roast to be pre-eminent; be in charge

Derived Formsrulable, adjective

Word Origin for rule

C13: from Old French riule, from Latin rēgula a straight edge; see regulate

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

Word Origin and History for ruling (1 of 3)

ruling

"determination by a judge or court on a point arising in the course of a trial or hearing," 1550s, verbal noun from rule (v.).

Word Origin and History for ruling (1 of 3)

rule

c.1200, "principle or maxim governing conduct, formula to which conduct must be conformed" from Old French riule, Norman reule "rule, custom, (religious) order" (in Modern French partially re-Latinized as règle), from Vulgar Latin *regula, from Latin regula "straight stick, bar, ruler;" figuratively "a pattern, a model," related to regere "to rule, straighten, guide" (see regal). Replaced Old English wealdan.

Meaning "regulation governing play of a game, etc." is from 1690s. Phrase rule of thumb first attested 1690s. Rule of law "supremacy of impartial and well-defined laws to any individual's power" is from 1883. Meaning "strip used for making straight lines or measuring" is recorded from mid-14c. Typography sense is attested from 1680s.

Word Origin and History for ruling (2 of 3)

rule

c.1200, "to control, guide, direct," from Old French riuler "impose rule," from Latin regulare (see regulate). Legal sense "establish by decision" is recorded from early 15c. Meaning "mark with lines" is from 1590s. Meaning "to dominate, prevail" is from 1874. "Rule Brittania," patriotic song, is from 1740. Related: Ruled; ruling.

Medicine definitions for ruling

rule

[ rōōl ]

n.

A usual, customary, or generalized course of action or behavior.

A generalized statement that describes what is true in most or all cases; a standard.

Idioms and Phrases with ruling

rule

In addition to the idioms beginning with rule

rule of thumb
rule out
rule the roost

also see:

as a rule
exception proves the rule
ground rules

ruling

noun

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of ruling

Definition for ruling (2 of 2)

rule

noun

verb (used with object), ruled, rul·ing.

verb (used without object), ruled, rul·ing.

Verb Phrases

Origin of rule

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for ruling

British Dictionary definitions for ruling (1 of 2)

ruling

noun

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for ruling (2 of 2)

rule

noun

verb

Word Origin for rule

Word Origin and History for ruling (1 of 3)

ruling

Word Origin and History for ruling (1 of 3)

rule

Word Origin and History for ruling (2 of 3)

rule

Medicine definitions for ruling

rule

n.

Idioms and Phrases with ruling

rule