Principles I ˈprɪnsəpl General Basic Moral Refuse Extra

• he has high moral principles.
• stick to your principles and tell him you won't do it.
• i refuse to lie about it; it's against my principles.
• he doesn't invest in the arms industry on principle.

principle

1. a moral rule or a strong belief that influences your actions
• He has high moral principles.
• Stick to your principles and tell him you won't do it.
• I refuse to lie about it; it's against my principles.
• He doesn't invest in the arms industry on principle.
• She refuses to allow her family to help her as a matter of principle.

Extra Examples

• I refuse to compromise my principles by eating meat.
• As a man of principle, he would not cover up for his former friend.
• As a matter of principle she won't be visiting the president.
• I can't accept his offer without seriously compromising my principles.
• The group never departed from its principle of non-violence.
2. a law, a rule or a theory that something is based on
• The same principles apply to both humans and animals.
• an important legal principle
• ‘You learn general principles from studying particular things,’ he asserts.
• the basic principles of car maintenance
• There are three fundamental principles of teamwork.
• to learn the basic/general principles of something
• the principles of justice/law
• the principles and practice of writing reports
• draft principles for the management of shared natural resources
• a document setting out principles for resolving the dispute
• The principle behind it is very simple.
• Discussing all these details will get us nowhere; we must get back to first principles (= the most basic rules).
• The court derived a set of principles from this general rule.

Extra Examples

• His novels reject chronology as an organizing principle.
• She is interested in actual human relationships rather than abstract principles.
• She went on to explain the principles behind what she was doing.
• The house incorporates many principles of modern environmentally aware design.
• This principle applies to all kinds of selling.
3. a belief that is accepted as a reason for acting or thinking in a particular way
• The welfare of the child is the guiding principle of the family courts.
• They were accused of violating the principles of democracy.
• The principle of equality is enshrined in the Constitution.
• the application of the principle that men and women should receive equal pay for equal work
• The UN declaration sought to establish the principle that everyone is entitled to the same basic rights
• the principle that free education should be available for all children
• Ethical behaviour entails acting in accordance with established principles of right and wrong

Extra Examples

• The order to show no mercy was contrary to the most basic principles of their religion.
• Freedom is the founding principle of our Republic.
• She sticks to the principle that everyone should be treated equally.
• the principles underlying Western philosophy
4. a general or scientific law that explains how something works or why something happens
• O'Sullivan was among the first chemists to apply scientific principles to brewing beer.
• the principle that heat rises
• A tidal current turbine is similar in principle to a windmill.
5. if something can be done in principle, there is no good reason why it should not be done although it has not yet been done and there may be some difficulties
• In principle there is nothing that a human can do that a machine might not be able to do one day.
6. in general but not in detail
• They have agreed to the proposal in principle but we still have to negotiate the terms.
• I agree with you in principle, but we'll need to discuss the details.

Word Origin

• late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin principium ‘source’, principia (plural) ‘foundations’, from princeps, princip- ‘first, chief’.