principle

American  

[prin-suh-puhl] / ˈprɪn sə pəl /

noun

1. an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct.

   a person of good moral principles.

2. a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth from which others are derived.

   the principles of modern physics.

   Synonyms:

   proposition, postulate, axiom, theorem

3. a fundamental doctrine or tenet; a distinctive ruling opinion.

   the principles of the Stoics.

4. principles, a personal or specific basis of conduct or management.

   to adhere to one's principles; a kindergarten run on modern principles.

5. guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct.

   a person of principle.

   Synonyms:

   honor, rectitude, probity, integrity

6. an adopted rule or method for application in action.

   a working principle for general use.

7. 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.

8. the method of formation, operation, or procedure exhibited in a given case.

   a community organized on the patriarchal principle.

9. a determining characteristic of something; essential quality.

10. an originating or actuating agency or force.

    growth is the principle of life.

11. an actuating agency in the mind or character, as an instinct, faculty, or natural tendency.

    the principles of human behavior.

12. Chemistry. a constituent of a substance, especially one giving to it some distinctive quality or effect.

13. Obsolete. beginning or commencement.

---

idioms

1. in principle, in essence or substance; fundamentally.

   to accept a plan in principle.

2. on principle,

   1. 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.

   2. according to a fixed rule, method, or practice.

      He drank hot milk every night on principle.

principle ¹ British  

/ ˈprɪnsɪpəl /

noun

1. a standard or rule of personal conduct

   a man of principle

2. (often plural) a set of such moral rules

   he'd stoop to anything

   he has no principles

3. adherence to such a moral code; morality

   it's not the money but the principle of the thing

   torn between principle and expediency

4. a fundamental or general truth or law

   first principles

5. the essence of something

   the male principle

6. a source or fundamental cause; origin

   principle of life

7. a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the behaviour of a system

   the principle of the conservation of mass

8. an underlying or guiding theory or belief

   the hereditary principle

   socialist principles

9. chem a constituent of a substance that gives the substance its characteristics and behaviour

   bitter principle

10. in theory or essence

11. because of or in demonstration of a principle

---

Principle ² British  

/ ˈprɪnsɪpəl /

noun

1. Christian Science another word for God

---

principle More Idioms  

1. see in principle; on principle.

---

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

These principles guide how scientists understand reactions and predict molecular behavior.

From Science Daily

It was a vision that—at least in principle—many governments have now adopted.

From The Wall Street Journal

The principles articulated under Cyrus became the first human rights charter that continues to influence traditions and charters adopted by other nations centuries later.

From Salon

Nato was founded in 1949 on the principle that an attack on one ally is an attack on all.

From BBC

The Carnot principle, which later became part of the second law of thermodynamics, was formulated for large-scale systems such as steam turbines.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• assumption
• basis
• convention
• doctrine
• ethic
• foundation
• fundamental
• precept
• proposition
• regulation
• rule
• truth