principled
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of principled
Explanation
If you decide to take a lower grade rather than cheat on a test, you are making a principled decision, or one that is based on moral rightness. Most people have a set of principles or basic moral rules that they follow. These might include not stealing, not cheating, and treating people as you would like to be treated. Decisions made following these rules are principled, as are people who follow their principles often. If you take a principled stance on censorship, your defend or refute it actively based on your convictions.
Vocabulary lists containing principled
President Trump's Second State of the Union Address (2019)
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They Called Us Enemy
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Obama's State of the Union Address, 2014
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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.
So I think it’s important not to say this is a principled court that is supportive of executive power.
From Slate • Jul. 6, 2026
Jed Shugerman: There is no way a principled originalist can reconcile Slaughter and Cook, but let me try to give the best account for this.
From Slate • Jul. 6, 2026
One of the joys of Mr. Lin’s satisfying series is watching Jing-nan and other characters struggle to lead principled lives while gaining economic footing in a perilous environment.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Whipp says of lead Michael Shannon: He “usually plays the assassin. In ‘Death by Lightning,’ he plays President James A. Garfield, showing us a principled man who aims for a life of public service.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
He was a devout and principled man, with a long, somber face and a full gray beard.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
