unprincipled
8
6.6
- adjective
- /ʌnˈprɪnsəpəld/
- Offensive
:
sin escrúpulos
- The politician made an unprincipled decision to change his stance on important issues for personal gain.
So that the great and famous Plato, supposing he was not a wise man, live no better and no happier a life than any unprincipled scoundrel.
- So that the great and famous Plato, supposing he was not a wise man, live no better and no happier a life than any unprincipled scoundrel.
- And so you can see where being principled or unprincipled in your life can lead to to life or death.
- And history is the judge of whether you're being stubborn and unprincipled or whether you're being principal and steadfast, right?
Examples
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It is true that the way we practice informant use, the way we actually run the market is unprincipled and sloppy and destructive.
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The key statement is "The limit of this unprincipled madness is being reached."
Blog text (17) -
The task is challenging, but it is unprincipled not to try.
Academic text (1999) -
One of the city's more unprincipled real estate agents.
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I agree that we need a solution, but I don't think this unprincipled one is it.
Blog text (32) -
If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted...
Blog text (19) -
The best you can say about her is that she's an unprincipled, mercenary hack.
Blog text (27) -
Among the forces inhibiting democratic citizenship education is the seemingly unprincipled behavior of the politicians, who fail to model democratic behavior.
Academic text (1999) -
Yet, Boehner and his merry band of unprincipled career politicians are committed to banishing conservatives from their ranks.
Blog text (22) -
And history is the judge of whether you're being stubborn and unprincipled or whether you're being principal and steadfast, right?
Synonyms
291
4.4
Willing to act dishonestly to gain money or power
102
4.8
Not right according to moral or professional rules most people accept
25
7.5
A person or company that is not honest and tries to take advantage of others
23
6.0
Not honest or fair and causing shame
5
7.6
Acting in a way that is unfair or morally wrong
1
8.5
A person who does not have strong moral principles and is likely to do dishonest or unfair things
1
9.5
Not feeling guilty about doing bad or dishonest things
Not careful about doing the right thing
An action that is not honest or fair and not respected by others
Antonyms
How Principled
15
4.0
39
3.8
176
3.9
- Offensive
8
6.6
25
7.5
291
4.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
unprincipled = principled (transparent) = un + principle + ed
The adjective 'principled' clearly means 'having principles', and adding 'un-' yields the straightforward negation 'not having principles'.
Etymology
The word unprincipled is made of un- meaning 'not' and principle meaning 'a basic moral rule'. So an unprincipled person is 'without principles', someone who does not follow moral rules.