principle :: Lexipedia - Where words have meaning

n. a basic truth or law or assumption; "the principles of democracy"

n. a rule or standard especially of good behavior; "a man of principle"; "he will not violate his principles"

n. (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"

rule

n. 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"

rule

n. 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"

precept

n. rule of personal conduct

use, function, role, purpose

n. what something is used for; "the function of an auger is to bore holes"; "ballet is beautiful but what use is it?"

spot, point

n. an outstanding characteristic; "his acting was one of the high points of the movie"

theory

n. a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; "theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and theory"

substance, center, sum, centre, core, essence, heart, inwardness, marrow, kernel, gist, meat, nub, pith, nitty-gritty

n. the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story"

rule, principle

n. 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"

component, constituent, element, ingredient, factor

n. an abstract part of something; "jealousy was a component of his character"; "two constituents of a musical composition are melody and harmony"; "the grammatical elements of a sentence"; "a key factor in her success"; "humor: an effective ingredient of a speech"

theory

n. a belief that can guide behavior; "the architect has a theory that more is less"; "they killed him on the theory that dead men tell no tales"

ideology, political orientation

n. an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation

substance, center, sum, centre, core, essence, heart, inwardness, marrow, kernel, gist, meat, nub, pith, nitty-gritty

n. the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story"

rule, principle

n. 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"

feeling, impression, notion, belief

n. a vague idea in which some confidence is placed; "his impression of her was favorable"; "what are your feelings about the crisis?"; "it strengthened my belief in his sincerity"; "I had a feeling that she was lying"

theory

n. a belief that can guide behavior; "the architect has a theory that more is less"; "they killed him on the theory that dead men tell no tales"

ideology, political orientation

n. an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation

axiom, maxim

n. a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits

order, rescript, decree, edict, fiat

n. a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge); "a friend in New Mexico said that the order caused no trouble out there"

postulate

n. (logic) a proposition that is accepted as true in order to provide a basis for logical reasoning

directive

n. a pronouncement encouraging or banning some activity; "the boss loves to send us directives"

direction, instruction

n. a message describing how something is to be done; "he gave directions faster than she could follow them"

axiom

n. (logic) a proposition that is not susceptible of proof or disproof; its truth is assumed to be self-evident

doctrine, creed, gospel, religious doctrine, church doctrine

n. the written body of teachings of a religious group that are generally accepted by that group

rule

n. directions that define the way a game or sport is to be conducted; "he knew the rules of chess"

lesson, moral

n. the significance of a story or event; "the moral of the story is to love thy neighbor"

belief, dogma, tenet

n. a religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof

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