View synonyms for principal

principal

[ prin-suh-puhl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

first or highest in rank, importance, value, etc.; chief; foremost:
The principal problem is a lack of money.
She's the principal advisor on the council.
Synonyms: preeminent, cardinal, main, leading, paramount, prime
Antonyms: ancillary, secondary
of, of the nature of, or constituting principal or capital:
Though our portfolio has seen losses, the principal investment remains untouched.
Geometry. (of an axis of a conic) passing through the foci.

noun

a chief or head.
Synonyms: leader
the head or director of a school or, especially in England, a college.
Synonyms: master, dean, headmaster
a person who takes a leading part in any activity, as a play; chief actor or doer.
the first player of a division of instruments in an orchestra (excepting the leader of the first violins).
something of principal or chief importance.
Law.
1. a person who authorizes someone else, such as an agent, to represent them.
2. a person directly responsible for a crime, either as an actual perpetrator or as an abettor present at its commission. Compare accessory ( def 3 ).
a person primarily liable for an obligation, in contrast with an endorser, or the like.
the main body of an estate, or the like, as distinguished from income.
Finance. a capital sum, as distinguished from interest or profit.
Music.
1. an organ stop.
2. the subject of a fugue.
(in a framed structure) a member, as a truss, upon which adjacent or similar members depend for support or reinforcement.
each of the combatants in a duel, as distinguished from the seconds.

principal

/ ˈprɪnsɪpəl /

adjective

first in importance, rank, value, etc; chief
denoting or relating to capital or property as opposed to interest, etc

noun

a person who is first in importance or directs some event, action, organization, etc
(in Britain) a civil servant of an executive grade who is in charge of a section
law
1. a person who engages another to act as his agent
2. an active participant in a crime
3. the person primarily liable to fulfil an obligation
the head of a school or other educational institution
(in Scottish schools) a head of department
finance
1. capital or property, as contrasted with the income derived from it
2. the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated
a main roof truss or rafter
music
1. the chief instrumentalist in a section of the orchestra
2. one of the singers in an opera company
3. either of two types of open diapason organ stops, one of four-foot length and pitch and the other of eight-foot length and pitch
the leading performer in a play

principal

The original amount of money lent, not including profits and interest .

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Usage

See principle

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Confusables Note

The noun principle and the noun and adjective principal are often confused. Although pronounced alike, the words are not interchangeable in writing. A principle is broadly “a rule of action or conduct” ( His overriding principle is greed ) or “a fundamental doctrine or tenet” ( Their principles do not permit the use of alcoholic beverages ). The adjective principal has the general sense “chief, first, foremost”: My principal objection is the cost of the project. The noun principal has among other meanings “the head or director of a school” ( The faculty supported the principal in her negotiations with the board ) and “a capital sum, as distinguished from interest or profit” ( The monthly payments go mostly for interest, leaving the principal practically untouched ).

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Derived Forms

ˈprincipalship, noun

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Other Words From

princi·pal·ship noun
under·princi·pal noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of principal¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin prīncipālis “first, chief,” equivalent to prīncip- ( prince ) + -ālis -al ¹

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Word History and Origins

Origin of principal¹

C13: via Old French from Latin principālis chief, from princeps chief man, prince

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Synonym Study

See capital ¹.

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Example Sentences

The leak suggests that Mr. Obama remains blind to the principal cause of his foreign policy woes.

From The Daily Beast

The Spire rests on the same basic principal as the old-school fountains.

From The Daily Beast

But younger members of the community who encountered the man as a principal had a different tale to tell.

From The Daily Beast

He recalled one event, when he was playing with a friend, Areah, when the principal came outside and found them.

From The Daily Beast

In an ultra-Orthodox enclave of upstate New York, a former student has accused a principal of sex acts.

From The Daily Beast

This is the first and principal point at which we can stanch the wastage of teaching energy that now goes on.

From Project Gutenberg

"The Smoker," and "Mother and Daughter," a triptych, are two of her principal pictures.

From Project Gutenberg

It is the principal waste-product of metabolism, and constitutes about one-half of all the solids excreted—about 30 gm.

From Project Gutenberg

The principal room or "hall" will accommodate about 1,000 persons, the remaining portion of the premises being let off in offices.

From Project Gutenberg

Thomas Barnes, principal editor of the Times newspaper, died in London, aged 56.

From Project Gutenberg

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Prince William Sound principal argument

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