principal
320
2.8
- adjective
- /ˈprɪnsəpəl/
:
principal
- And it is hard for a number of reasons, but the principal one we face right now is what I'll call localism.
- principal factor
- principal purpose
- principal source
So the principal problem is that is not so.
- So the principal problem is that is not so.
- It was my first principal role on TV show Ridiculous Story.
- Osama bin Laden made it clear that this was one of those principal reasons for attacking the United States.
- I had done AI, done a real significant camera test in the months before we shot principal photography.
- And that's what the the writer created, that crafted that The final effect is the principal effect.
- I would say that based on that data, the principal protocol advice I would have for you is go to the pub in the morning.
- G is simply the the principal component or the the the the vector that captures that correlated variance.
- We thought, well for emotions, which are the short bursts of of affective state, it was REM sleep that seemed to be the principal ingredient.
- It has shifted so much that the principal light from those galaxies is now in the infrared part of the spectrum.
- We go down there with, you know, the principal actors, you know, the, the hobbits, the, the basically nine of the Fellowship and one or two others.
Examples
-
Yeah, as long as your principal purpose for the trip is business and then you add on the vacation, right.
-
No matter which form I take, I have principal guidelines that you find in all of these things.
-
So the principal problem is that is not so.
-
So, but it is a principal instrument for a decent developing country.
-
There is every reason to believe that a new "principal principle" of physical activity education is emerging.
Academic text (2011) -
A second judge, advocate, or mentor is the teacher librarian as the principal information coach in the school.
Academic text (2011) -
Alan Grant was one of the principal advocates of the theory that dinosaurs were warm-blooded.
Fiction book (1990) -
Twenty-one floors up, the noise of traffic was the principal sound: a loud, windy rush.
Fiction book (1997) -
The principal reason for the delay was a lack of funds.
-
In the meeting, they discussed the principal goals for the project.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Most important or central in a situation
∞
3.2
The main thing that matters most
∞
2.5
Being most important or basic
122
4.2
Most important in a group or area
61
4.5
Most important or best in a group of similar things
45
6.7
More important than anything else
22
4.0
More important than other things
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
A line of numbers in a square table that runs from the top left to the bottom right
- Specialized
Original amount of money someone lends or invests that people pay interest on
- Specialized
An invisible straight line through a lens or mirror center that light follows without bending
How Important
Surface Forms
Morphology
principal = princip + al
The adjective is formed with '-al' on a non-standalone combining form 'princip-', so the meaning 'most important' is not transparently derivable by learners from visible English components.
Etymology
Principal as an adjective comes from princip- meaning 'first' or 'chief', the same idea you see in the word prince, so it means the 'most important' or main thing.