| rule | | |
| n. (cognition) | 1. regulation, rule | a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior.; "it was his rule to take a walk before breakfast"; "short haircuts were the regulation" |
| ~ concept, conception, construct | an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances. |
| ~ limitation, restriction | a principle that limits the extent of something.; "I am willing to accept certain restrictions on my movements" |
| ~ guidepost, rule of thumb, guideline | a rule or principle that provides guidance to appropriate behavior. |
| ~ cy pres, cy pres doctrine, rule of cy pres | a rule that when literal compliance is impossible the intention of a donor or testator should be carried out as nearly as possible. |
| ~ working principle, working rule | a rule that is adequate to permit work to be done. |
| n. (cognition) | 2. convention, formula, normal, pattern, rule | something regarded as a normative example.; "the convention of not naming the main character"; "violence is the rule not the exception"; "his formula for impressing visitors" |
| ~ practice | knowledge of how something is usually done.; "it is not the local practice to wear shorts to dinner" |
| ~ mores | (sociology) the conventions that embody the fundamental values of a group. |
| ~ code of behavior, code of conduct | a set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is a member of a particular group. |
| ~ universal | a behavioral convention or pattern characteristic of all members of a particular culture or of all human beings.; "some form of religion seems to be a human universal" |
| n. (communication) | 3. prescript, rule | prescribed guide for conduct or action. |
| ~ bylaw | a rule adopted by an organization in order to regulate its own affairs and the behavior of its members. |
| ~ rubric | an authoritative rule of conduct or procedure. |
| ~ parliamentary law, parliamentary procedure, rules of order, order | a body of rules followed by an assembly. |
| ~ rule of evidence | (law) a rule of law whereby any alleged matter of fact that is submitted for investigation at a judicial trial is established or disproved. |
| ~ miranda rule | the rule that police (when interrogating you after an arrest) are obliged to warn you that anything you say may be used as evidence and to read you your constitutional rights (the right to a lawyer and the right to remain silent until advised by a lawyer). |
| ~ precept, principle | rule of personal conduct. |
| ~ golden rule | any important rule.; "the golden rule of teaching is to be clear" |
| ~ gigo | (computer science) a rule stating that the quality of the output is a function of the quality of the input; put garbage in and you get garbage out. |
| ~ dictate | an authoritative rule. |
| ~ ordinance, regulation | an authoritative rule. |
| ~ canon | a rule or especially body of rules or principles generally established as valid and fundamental in a field or art or philosophy.; "the neoclassical canon"; "canons of polite society" |
| ~ etiquette | rules governing socially acceptable behavior. |
| ~ communications protocol, protocol | (computer science) rules determining the format and transmission of data. |
| ~ instruction, direction | a message describing how something is to be done.; "he gave directions faster than she could follow them" |
| ~ rule book, book | a collection of rules or prescribed standards on the basis of which decisions are made.; "they run things by the book around here" |
| n. (communication) | 4. linguistic rule, rule | (linguistics) a rule describing (or prescribing) a linguistic practice. |
| ~ concept, conception, construct | an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances. |
| ~ linguistics | the scientific study of language. |
| ~ linguistic universal, universal | (linguistics) a grammatical rule (or other linguistic feature) that is found in all languages. |
| ~ grammatical rule, rule of grammar | a linguistic rule for the syntax of grammatical utterances. |
| ~ morphological rule, rule of morphology | a linguistic rule for the formation of words. |
| n. (cognition) | 5. principle, rule | a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct.; "their principles of composition characterized all their works" |
| ~ generalisation, generality, generalization | an idea or conclusion having general application.; "he spoke in broad generalities" |
| ~ pillar | a fundamental principle or practice.; "science eroded the pillars of superstition" |
| ~ yang | the bright positive masculine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology.; "yin and yang together produce everything that comes into existence" |
| ~ yin | the dark negative feminine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology.; "the interaction of yin and yang maintains the harmony of the universe" |
| ~ feng shui | rules in Chinese philosophy that govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to patterns of yin and yang and the flow of energy (qi); the favorable or unfavorable effects are taken into consideration in designing and siting buildings and graves and furniture. |
| n. (time) | 6. rule | the duration of a monarch's or government's power.; "during the rule of Elizabeth" |
| ~ duration, continuance | the period of time during which something continues. |
| ~ regency | the period from 1811-1820 when the Prince of Wales was regent during George III's periods of insanity. |
| ~ regency | the period of time during which a regent governs. |
| n. (state) | 7. dominion, rule | dominance or power through legal authority.; "France held undisputed dominion over vast areas of Africa"; "the rule of Caesar" |
| ~ ascendance, ascendancy, ascendence, ascendency, dominance, control | the state that exists when one person or group has power over another.; "her apparent dominance of her husband was really her attempt to make him pay attention to her" |
| ~ paramountcy | the state of being paramount; the highest rank or authority. |
| ~ raj | British dominion over India (1757-1947). |
| ~ sovereignty, reign | royal authority; the dominion of a monarch. |
| ~ suzerainty | the position or authority of a suzerain.; "under the suzerainty of..." |
| n. (communication) | 8. rule | directions that define the way a game or sport is to be conducted.; "he knew the rules of chess" |
| ~ instruction, direction | a message describing how something is to be done.; "he gave directions faster than she could follow them" |
| ~ ground rule | (baseball) a special rule (as in baseball) dealing with situations that arise due to the nature of the playing grounds. |
| ~ rule book, book | a collection of rules or prescribed standards on the basis of which decisions are made.; "they run things by the book around here" |
| n. (communication) | 9. rule | any one of a systematic body of regulations defining the way of life of members of a religious order.; "the rule of St. Dominic" |
| ~ instruction, direction | a message describing how something is to be done.; "he gave directions faster than she could follow them" |
| n. (cognition) | 10. principle, rule | a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system.; "the principle of the conservation of mass"; "the principle of jet propulsion"; "the right-hand rule for inductive fields" |
| ~ law of nature, law | a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature.; "the laws of thermodynamics" |
| ~ gestalt law of organization, gestalt principle of organization | a principle of Gestalt psychology that identifies factors leading to particular forms of perceptual organization. |
| ~ le chatelier's law, le chatelier's principle, le chatelier-braun principle, le chatelier principle | the principle that if any change is imposed on a system that is in equilibrium then the system tends to adjust to a new equilibrium counteracting the change. |
| ~ gresham's law | (economics) the principle that when two kinds of money having the same denominational value are in circulation the intrinsically more valuable money will be hoarded and the money of lower intrinsic value will circulate more freely until the intrinsically more valuable money is driven out of circulation; bad money drives out good; credited to Sir Thomas Gresham. |
| ~ mass-energy equivalence | (physics) the principle that a measured quantity of mass is equivalent (according to relativity theory) to a measured quantity of energy. |
| ~ naegele's rule | rule for calculating an expected delivery date; subtract three months from the first day of the last menstrual period and add seven days to that date. |
| ~ law of parsimony, occam's razor, ockham's razor, principle of parsimony | the principle that entities should not be multiplied needlessly; the simplest of two competing theories is to be preferred. |
| ~ principle of equivalence | (physics) the principle that an observer has no way of distinguishing whether his laboratory is in a uniform gravitational field or is in an accelerated frame of reference. |
| ~ principle of liquid displacement | (hydrostatics) the volume of a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the volume of the displaced fluid. |
| ~ huygens' principle of superposition, principle of superposition | the displacement of any point due to the superposition of wave systems is equal to the sum of the displacements of the individual waves at that point.; "the principle of superposition is the basis of the wave theory of light" |
| ~ principle of superposition, superposition principle, superposition | (geology) the principle that in a series of stratified sedimentary rocks the lowest stratum is the oldest. |
| ~ mass-action principle, mass action | (neurology) the principle that the cortex of the brain operates as a coordinated system with large masses of neural tissue involved in all complex functioning. |
| ~ localisation, localisation of function, localisation principle, localization of function, localization principle, localization | (physiology) the principle that specific functions have relatively circumscribed locations in some particular part or organ of the body. |
| n. (cognition) | 11. formula, rule | (mathematics) a standard procedure for solving a class of mathematical problems.; "he determined the upper bound with Descartes' rule of signs"; "he gave us a general formula for attacking polynomials" |
| ~ procedure, process | a particular course of action intended to achieve a result.; "the procedure of obtaining a driver's license"; "it was a process of trial and error" |
| ~ metarule | a rule that describes how other rules should be used (as in AI). |
| ~ algorithm, algorithmic program, algorithmic rule | a precise rule (or set of rules) specifying how to solve some problem. |
| ~ heuristic, heuristic program, heuristic rule | a commonsense rule (or set of rules) intended to increase the probability of solving some problem. |
| ~ recursion | (mathematics) an expression such that each term is generated by repeating a particular mathematical operation. |
| ~ math, mathematics, maths | a science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement. |
| n. (artifact) | 12. rule, ruler | measuring stick consisting of a strip of wood or metal or plastic with a straight edge that is used for drawing straight lines and measuring lengths. |
| ~ carpenter's rule | a rule used by a carpenter. |
| ~ foot rule | a ruler one foot long. |
| ~ measuring rod, measuring stick, measure | measuring instrument having a sequence of marks at regular intervals; used as a reference in making measurements. |
| ~ meterstick, metrestick | a rule one meter long (usually marked off in centimeters and millimeters). |
| ~ yard measure, yardstick | a ruler or tape that is three feet long. |
| v. (social) | 13. govern, rule | exercise authority over; as of nations.; "Who is governing the country now?" |
| ~ control, command | exercise authoritative control or power over.; "control the budget"; "Command the military forces" |
| ~ throne | sit on the throne as a ruler. |
| ~ misgovern | govern badly. |
| ~ dictate | rule as a dictator. |
| ~ reign | have sovereign power.; "Henry VIII reigned for a long time" |
| v. (cognition) | 14. decree, rule | decide with authority.; "The King decreed that all firstborn males should be killed" |
| ~ decide, make up one's mind, determine | reach, make, or come to a decision about something.; "We finally decided after lengthy deliberations" |
| ~ override, overrule, overthrow, overturn, reverse | rule against.; "The Republicans were overruled when the House voted on the bill" |
| ~ rule in, rule out | include or exclude by determining judicially or in agreement with rules. |
| v. (stative) | 15. dominate, predominate, prevail, reign, rule | be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance.; "Money reigns supreme here"; "Hispanics predominate in this neighborhood" |
| ~ override | prevail over.; "health considerations override financial concerns" |
| ~ overarch | be central or dominant.; "This scene overarches the entire first act" |
| ~ outbalance, overbalance, preponderate, outweigh | weigh more heavily.; "these considerations outweigh our wishes" |
| v. (communication) | 16. find, rule | decide on and make a declaration about.; "find someone guilty" |
| ~ feel, find | come to believe on the basis of emotion, intuitions, or indefinite grounds.; "I feel that he doesn't like me"; "I find him to be obnoxious"; "I found the movie rather entertaining" |
| ~ pronounce, label, judge | pronounce judgment on.; "They labeled him unfit to work here" |
| v. (stative) | 17. rule | have an affinity with; of signs of the zodiac. |
| ~ accompany, attach to, come with, go with | be present or associated with an event or entity.; "French fries come with the hamburger"; "heart attacks are accompanied by distruction of heart tissue"; "fish usually goes with white wine"; "this kind of vein accompanies certain arteries" |
| v. (creation) | 18. rule | mark or draw with a ruler.; "rule the margins" |
| ~ draw | represent by making a drawing of, as with a pencil, chalk, etc. on a surface.; "She drew an elephant"; "Draw me a horse" |
| v. (change) | 19. harness, rein, rule | keep in check.; "rule one's temper" |
| ~ confine, limit, throttle, restrain, trammel, bound, restrict | place limits on (extent or access).; "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends" |
| menstruate | | |
| v. (body) | 1. flow, menstruate | undergo menstruation.; "She started menstruating at the age of 11" |
| ~ ovulate | produce and discharge eggs.; "women ovulate about once every month" |
| ~ bleed, hemorrhage, shed blood | lose blood from one's body. |
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