principle

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: principe, principale, principal, principles, principled, principate, principia, principals, principen, unprinciple, principes

Antonyms: principe, principale, principal, principles, principled, principate, principia, principals, principen, unprinciple, principes

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Noun

1. A [[fundamental]] [[assumption]], [[fundamental law]] or [[guiding]] [[belief]].
2. A rule used to choose among solutions to a problem.
3. {{lb|en|sometimes|[[pluralize]]d}} {{U|moral}} [[rule]] or aspect.
4. {{lb|en|physics}} A rule or [[law of nature]], or the basic idea on how the laws of nature are applied.
5. A fundamental [[essence]], particularly one producing a given quality.
6. A [[source]], or [[origin]]; that from which anything proceeds; fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance; ultimate element, or cause.
7. An original [[faculty]] or [[endowment]].
8. {{misspelling of|en|principal}}.
9. {{lb|en|obsolete}} A [[beginning]].

Verb

1. {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[equip]] with principles; to [[establish]], or [[fix]], in certain principles; to [[impress]] with any [[tenet]] or rule of conduct.<!--there was a L'Estrange quote here, now it is at [[principled]]-->

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.