The Verb ausschließen and the Adjective ausgeschlossen

If you examine the root word and prefix of the separable verb ausschließen and the adjective ausgeschlossen, you find the verb schließen ("to shut") and the prefix aus ("out"). These words may, in some contexts, be translated respectively as "to shut out" to "shut out," but they are more commonly used in a figurative sense.

Dafür kommen die Zoobesucher aber ganz schön nah an die Geparden ran, direkter Blickkontakt nicht ausgeschlossen.

In return, the zoo visitors come pretty close to the cheetahs, direct eye contact not being ruled out.

Captions 37-38, Für Tierfreunde - Geparden
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BHF ist angezählt, ein Verkauf nicht ausgeschlossen.

BHF is down for the count, a sale has not been ruled out.

Caption 49, Journal Wirtschaft - Business News
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Väter sind nicht grundsätzlich vom Training ausgeschlossen.

Fathers aren't necessarily excluded from the training [sessions].

Caption 39, Neuer Fitness-Trend - Kinderwagen-Workout
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Weitere Windparks in der Ostsee sind nicht ausgeschlossen.

Additional wind parks in the Baltic Sea haven't been ruled out.

Caption 18, Windenergie - Ostsee-Windpark Baltic 2 speist Strom ins Netz
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Thus, the adjective ausgeschlossen is generally translated, depending on the context, as "excluded" or "ruled out." As a simple interjection, however, an exclamatory Ausgeschlossen! means "impossible."

The verb ausschließen has a similar meaning:

Wir schließen aber nicht aus, dass wir irgendwann mal wieder eine Show machen.

But we won't rule out that we'll do a show again some day.

Caption 28, rheinmain Szene - Michael "Bully" Herbig
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Some other possible translations of ausschließen, depending on the context, can be "to exclude," "to preclude," "to expel," "to eliminate," and "to disqualify."

Note that the verb ausschließen always has the last syllable written with an ß rather than ss. Just to make it slightly complicated, however, the simple past tense (Indikativ) and subjective mood (Konjunktiv II) of ausschließen are written with ss instead of ß: ich schloss aus ("I ruled out") and ich schlösse aus ("Were I to rule out"). You can easily remember this in that long vowel sounds like ie always take the ß afterwards, and short vowels like o the letters ss.