Definition of principle - WordReference.com Dictionary

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principle:

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Adapted From: WordNet 2.0 Copyright 2003 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

principle
A	noun
	1	rationale, principle
			(law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature); "the rationale for capital punishment"; "the principles of internal-combustion engines"
		Category Tree: psychological feature ╚cognition; knowledge; noesis ╚process; cognitive process; mental process; operation; cognitive operation ╚higher cognitive process ╚thinking; thought; cerebration; intellection; mentation ╚explanation ╚rationale, principle ╚dialectics
	2	principle
			a basic truth or law or assumption; "the principles of democracy"
		Category Tree: psychological feature ╚cognition; knowledge; noesis ╚content; cognitive content; mental object ╚idea; thought ╚concept; conception; construct ╚law; natural law ╚principle ╚Tao ╚conservation ╚reality principle ╚pleasure principle; pleasure-pain principle; pleasure-unpleasure principle ╚logic ╚fundamentals; basics; fundamental principle; basic principle; bedrock ╚dictate
	3	principle, rule
			a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system; "the principle of the conservation of mass"; "the principle of jet propulsion"; "the right-hand rule for inductive fields"
		Category Tree: psychological feature ╚cognition; knowledge; noesis ╚content; cognitive content; mental object ╚idea; thought ╚concept; conception; construct ╚law; law of nature ╚principle, rule ╚localization of function; localisation of function; localization principle; localisation principle; localization; localisation ╚mass-action principle; mass action ╚principle of superposition; superposition principle; superposition ╚principle of superposition; Huygens' principle of superposition ╚principle of liquid displacement ╚principle of equivalence ╚Occam's Razor; Ockham's Razor; principle of parsimony; law of parsimony ╚Naegele's rule ╚mass-energy equivalence ╚Gresham's Law ╚Le Chatelier's principle; Le Chatelier's law; Le Chatelier principle; Le Chatelier-Braun principle ╚Gestalt law of organization; Gestalt principle of organization
	4	principle, rule
			a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct; "their principles of composition characterized all their works"
		Category Tree: psychological feature ╚cognition; knowledge; noesis ╚content; cognitive content; mental object ╚idea; thought ╚generalization; generalisation; generality ╚principle, rule ╚feng shui ╚yin ╚yang ╚pillar
	5	principle
			a rule or standard especially of good behavior; "a man of principle"; "he will not violate his principles"
		Category Tree: psychological feature ╚cognition; knowledge; noesis ╚content; cognitive content; mental object ╚idea; thought ╚ideal ╚value ╚principle ╚scruple ╚legal principle; judicial principle; judicial doctrine ╚Hellenism ╚ethic; moral principle; value-system; value orientation ╚chivalry ╚accounting principle; accounting standard
	6	principle, precept
			rule of personal conduct
		Category Tree: abstraction ╚relation ╚social relation ╚communication ╚message; content; subject matter; substance ╚direction; instruction ╚rule; prescript ╚principle, precept ╚caveat emptor ╚hypothetical imperative ╚moral principle ╚higher law

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Forum discussions with the word(s) 'principle' in the title:

"There is great odds in regard to us on what principle we act"
Proportional Analogy & Transparency Principle
as a matter of principle
End-weight principle: those who don't have the tickets they published
Subjunctive: ... you can will that your principle hold ...
basic principle
The democratic principle of majority rule
principle alone
Lifelong learning has developed from an initial idea into a dominant principle
difference between principle and rule(s)
a tip on principle
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