re = /(?<!\S)(?<!\bDim\s+)day(s)?(?!\S)/m
str = '\'*** This day is the day of all days
\'*** This day is the day of all days (there are 4 spaces at the start)
Dim day as integer
day=day+1'
subst = 'night$1'
result = str.gsub(re, subst)
# Print the result of the substitution
puts result
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Ruby, please visit: http://ruby-doc.org/core-2.2.0/Regexp.html