- principle
- noun1 basic general ruleADJECTIVE▪ basic, broad, central, fundamental, general, underlying▪
the basic principles of car maintenance
▪ bedrock (esp. AmE), cardinal, core, essential, key▪ universal▪ organizing▪His novels reject chronology as an organizing principle.
▪ abstract, theoretical▪She is interested in actual human relationships rather than abstract principles.
▪ constitutional, democratic, legal, market, political▪ mathematical, physical, scientificVERB + PRINCIPLE▪ violate▪This violates every principle of good writing.
▪ embody, embrace, illustrate, incorporate▪The house incorporates many principles of modern environmentally aware design.
▪ discover, establish, formulate, lay down▪ apply, invoke▪ articulate, explain, outlinePRINCIPLE + VERB▪ apply▪This principle applies to all kinds of selling.
▪ underlie sth, underpin sth▪the principles underlying Western philosophy
PREPOSITION▪ in principle▪I agree with you in principle, but we'll need to discuss the details.
▪ principle behind▪She went on to explain the principles behind what she was doing.
PHRASES▪ the pleasure principle, the precautionary principle, the uncertainty principle▪Does everything we do come down to the pleasure principle?
2 moral ruleADJECTIVE▪ high▪ founding, guiding▪Freedom is the founding principle of our Republic.
▪ Biblical, religious▪ Christian, Islamic, etc.▪ ethical, moral▪He was a man of high moral principles.
VERB + PRINCIPLE▪ abandon, betray, compromise▪I refuse to compromise my principles by eating meat.
▪ adhere to, stick to, uphold▪She sticks to the principle that everyone should be treated equally.
▪ be enshrined in sth▪The principle of equality is enshrined in our Constitution.
PREPOSITION▪ against your principles▪Eating meat was against her principles.
▪ on principle▪She's opposed to abortion on principle.
PHRASES▪ a matter of principle▪They reject the proposal as a matter of principle.
▪ a man/woman of principle (= person with high moral standards)
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
