re = /(?<!ABC)(?<!\d)\d+/
str = 'sdkfjsd 12312981 sdkfjsdfhbnmawd 1298 ,smdfsdnfk2342423
sdlkfsdfs 20349 ABC1203912 2034234aac <-- ABC<number> stays, the other numbers do not
ABC1203912'
subst = '#'
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