principle
Americannoun
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an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct.
a person of good moral principles.
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a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth from which others are derived.
the principles of modern physics.
- Synonyms:
- proposition, postulate, axiom, theorem
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a fundamental doctrine or tenet; a distinctive ruling opinion.
the principles of the Stoics.
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principles, a personal or specific basis of conduct or management.
to adhere to one's principles; a kindergarten run on modern principles.
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guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct.
a person of principle.
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an adopted rule or method for application in action.
a working principle for general use.
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a rule or law exemplified in natural phenomena, the construction or operation of a machine, the working of a system, or the like.
the principle of capillary attraction.
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the method of formation, operation, or procedure exhibited in a given case.
a community organized on the patriarchal principle.
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a determining characteristic of something; essential quality.
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an originating or actuating agency or force.
growth is the principle of life.
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an actuating agency in the mind or character, as an instinct, faculty, or natural tendency.
the principles of human behavior.
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Chemistry. a constituent of a substance, especially one giving to it some distinctive quality or effect.
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Obsolete. beginning or commencement.
idioms
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in principle, in essence or substance; fundamentally.
to accept a plan in principle.
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on principle,
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according to personal rules for right conduct; as a matter of moral principle.
He refused on principle to agree to the terms of the treaty.
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according to a fixed rule, method, or practice.
He drank hot milk every night on principle.
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noun
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a standard or rule of personal conduct
a man of principle
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(often plural) a set of such moral rules
he'd stoop to anything
he has no principles
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adherence to such a moral code; morality
it's not the money but the principle of the thing
torn between principle and expediency
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a fundamental or general truth or law
first principles
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the essence of something
the male principle
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a source or fundamental cause; origin
principle of life
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a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the behaviour of a system
the principle of the conservation of mass
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an underlying or guiding theory or belief
the hereditary principle
socialist principles
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chem a constituent of a substance that gives the substance its characteristics and behaviour
bitter principle
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in theory or essence
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because of or in demonstration of a principle
noun
Usage
Principle and principal are often confused: the principal (not principle ) reason for his departure; the plan was approved in principle (not in principal )
Commonly Confused
See principal.
Related Words
Principle, canon, rule imply something established as a standard or test, for measuring, regulating, or guiding conduct or practice. A principle is a general and fundamental truth that may be used in deciding conduct or choice: to adhere to principle. Canon, originally referring to an edict of the Church (a meaning that it still retains), is used of any principle, law, or critical standard that is officially approved, particularly in aesthetics and scholarship: canons of literary criticism. A rule, usually something adopted or enacted, is often the specific application of a principle: the golden rule.
Etymology
Origin of principle
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, alteration of Middle French principe or Latin prīncipium, on the analogy of manciple; principium
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the 10th Amendment argument, one of the arguments that Minnesota has made is the equal sovereignty principle.
From Salon
I will live by the Ranch’s principles, whether I’m there or not.
From Literature
Other genocide cases are also open at the International Criminal Court and in Argentina under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
From Barron's
Beyond steel, the same principles could be applied to other materials, allowing scientists to quantitatively predict how magnetic fields influence atomic diffusion more broadly.
From Science Daily
I never anticipated that the American healthcare system would become a frightening exception to classic supply-and-demand principles.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
