diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 65e9eee..2d95381 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ dev = [
     # Kept in lockstep with the pinned ruff-pre-commit hook (.pre-commit-config.yaml).
     # Pinned below 0.16: ruff 0.16 formats Python code blocks inside Markdown by
     # default, which would make `ruff format --check .` reformat README.md.
-    "ruff==0.15.17",
+    "ruff==0.16.0",
     "pre-commit>=3.7",
     "build>=1.2",
     "twine>=5",
@@ -90,6 +90,11 @@ ignore_missing_imports = true
 line-length = 100
 src = ["src", "tests"]
 
+[tool.ruff.format]
+# ruff 0.16 reformats Python code blocks inside Markdown by default; keep the
+# hand-formatted README examples (aligned inline comments, etc.) untouched.
+exclude = ["*.md"]
+
 [tool.ruff.lint]
 select = ["E", "F", "I", "UP", "B"]
 ignore = ["B904", "UP007", "UP045", "UP035", "UP006"]