rule out

verb rules out · ruling out · ruled out

1. transitive To cross an item out by drawing a straight line through it, as with a ruler.
2. idiomatic, transitive To reject an option from a list of possibilities. As Jane Doe had an alibi, the police were able to rule her out as a suspect.

   Similar: eliminate, reject

3. idiomatic, transitive To make something impossible. The constant rain ruled out any chance of a game of tennis.

   Similar: preclude

4. transitive To disallow. And Martin Skrtel's late headed goal was rightly ruled out for offside.
5. transitive To make unavailable. Flair and invention were very much at a premium, suffocated by the relentless pace and often fractious nature of proceedings. The absence of James Morrison from the centre of Scotland’s midfield, the West Brom man ruled out on the morning of the game by illness, had already diminished the creative c

Opposite: consider, rule in, allow