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principle
[ prin-suh-puhl ]
noun
- an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct:
a person of good moral principles.
- a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth from which others are derived:
the principles of modern physics.
Synonyms: , , ,
- a fundamental doctrine or tenet; a distinctive ruling opinion:
the principles of the Stoics.
- principles, a personal or specific basis of conduct or management:
to adhere to one's principles; a kindergarten run on modern principles.
- guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct:
a person of principle.
Synonyms: , , ,
- an adopted rule or method for application in action:
a working principle for general use.
- 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.
- the method of formation, operation, or procedure exhibited in a given case:
a community organized on the patriarchal principle.
- a determining characteristic of something; essential quality.
- an originating or actuating agency or force:
growth is the principle of life.
- an actuating agency in the mind or character, as an instinct, faculty, or natural tendency:
the principles of human behavior.
- Chemistry. a constituent of a substance, especially one giving to it some distinctive quality or effect.
- Obsolete. beginning or commencement.
Principle
1/ ˈɪԲɪə /
noun
- Christian Science another word for God
principle
2/ ˈɪԲɪə /
noun
- a standard or rule of personal conduct
a man of principle
- often plural a set of such moral rules
he has no principles
he'd stoop to anything
- adherence to such a moral code; morality
torn between principle and expediency
it's not the money but the principle of the thing
- a fundamental or general truth or law
first principles
- the essence of something
the male principle
- a source or fundamental cause; origin
principle of life
- a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the behaviour of a system
the principle of the conservation of mass
- an underlying or guiding theory or belief
socialist principles
the hereditary principle
- chem a constituent of a substance that gives the substance its characteristics and behaviour
bitter principle
- in principlein theory or essence
- on principlebecause of or in demonstration of a principle
Usage
Confusables Note
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of principle1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of principle1
Idioms and Phrases
- in principle, in essence or substance; fundamentally:
to accept a plan in principle.
- on principle,
- 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.
- according to a fixed rule, method, or practice:
He drank hot milk every night on principle.
More idioms and phrases containing principle
see in principle ; on principle .Synonym Study
Example Sentences
"I think as a matter of principle that the challenger shouldn't be dictating the terms of the fight," Taylor said.
The proposed legislation sought to legally define the principles of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi - causing widespread outrage that saw more than 40,000 people taking part in a protest outside parliament last year.
Reid said that his resignation was "not about personalities; it is about principles".
"The first principle in the academic world is that you direct your reader to your source material, and that isn't happening here," she said.
Brook said England "were not good enough", and the mantra he set out for his team was not significantly different to the principles held by coach Brendon McCullum.
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Related 51Թs
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.
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