principle
Core belief held
Principle is a noun that designates a rule, law, or doctrine.
Unlike its homonym principal, principle does not designate a person.
Principle is often used in the plural because where there is one, there are others: The course will acquaint students with the principles of modern physics.
The common phrase in principle means fundamentally or in essence: I accept your argument in principle but I have a few questions.
Foundational building block
- bedrockSolid stone underground
- basisUnderlying support or principle
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
- underpinningFoundational support beneath
framework · pillar · anchor · keystone · root · core · fundamental · tenet
Right and wrong principles
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
- conscienceInternal moral sense
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
honesty · fairness · justice · honor · rectitude · probity · uprightness · decency
Held principle or doctrine
- dogmaUnchallengeable official beliefs
- creedStatement of belief
- canonAccepted authoritative works
- preceptRule governing behavior
teaching · belief · ideology · orthodoxy · catechism · dictum · maxim · rule
Binding principle or regulation
- theoryExplanatory set of principles
- theoremDemonstrated logical conclusion
- axiomSelf-evident starting principle
- postulateAssumed starting point
formula · rule · constant · mechanism · hypothesis · model · equation · Newton
Point of origin
- causeWhat produces an effect
- rootUnderground absorbing structure
- basisUnderlying support or principle
- genesisPoint of creation
seed · wellspring · fountainhead · prime mover · first cause · driving force · impetus · motivation
Purpose-driven task
- purposeReason something exists
- movementChange in position
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
- crusadeZealous effort for change
conviction · ideal · goal · objective · advocacy · activism · dedication · commitment
Recommended standard for action
- criterionStandard for judgment
- benchmarkStandard for comparison
- codeSymbolic communication system
- ruleGoverning principle or standard
norm · protocol · specification · requirement · regulation · policy · procedure · canon
cornerstone
Foundational building block
- bedrockSolid stone underground
- basisUnderlying support or principle
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
underpinning · framework · pillar · anchor · keystone · root · core · fundamental · tenet · axiom
morality
Right and wrong principles
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
- conscienceInternal moral sense
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
virtue · honesty · fairness · justice · honor · rectitude · probity · uprightness · decency · scrupulousness
tenet
Held principle or doctrine
precept · teaching · belief · ideology · orthodoxy · catechism · dictum · maxim · rule · law
law
Binding principle or regulation
- theoryExplanatory set of principles
- theoremDemonstrated logical conclusion
- axiomSelf-evident starting principle
postulate · formula · rule · constant · mechanism · hypothesis · model · equation · Newton · Archimedes
source
Point of origin
genesis · seed · wellspring · fountainhead · prime mover · first cause · driving force · impetus · motivation · reason
mission
Purpose-driven task
crusade · conviction · ideal · goal · objective · advocacy · activism · dedication · commitment · calling
guideline
Recommended standard for action
rule · norm · protocol · specification · requirement · regulation · policy · procedure · canon · measure
- normsnorm, norms, standard, social norms, rule
- principlesethics, tenet, morals, axiom, values
- ruleslaw, rule, guideline, bylaw, standard
- wisdomwisdom, sagacity, sapience, discernment, insight
- moral teachingsmoral lesson, moral story, moral tale, moral fable, moral teaching
- formal logicformula, postulate, quantifiers, axiom, variable
principleimmorality
Quality of being wicked
evil · wickedness · corruption · iniquity · vice
principleeffect
Result of a cause
result · consequence · outcome · application · practice
principlepractice
Repeated work toward mastery
application · action · implementation · operation · exercise
- school principalChief administrator of school
- in principleAbstractly true, practically uncertain
- vice principalSchool administrator's deputy
- first principlesBasic truths underlying reasoning
- principal's officeSchool leader's workspace
- principal characterStory's central figure
principal, principles, principled, unprincipled, principally, principals, principality, principalities, principalship