Principal vs. Principle

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Understanding the difference between commonly confused words will help you avoid making errors in English usage. Let’s examine the difference between the following:

principal

A principal is the head of a school, the lead performer in an artistic work, or a person with the highest authority in an organization. It can also be a sum of money invested for interest. As an adjective, principal means most important, first or foremost; it can also relate to a capital sum.

The role of Princess Odette in tonight’s performance of Swan Lake will be danced by principal ballerina Heather Ogden.
A school principal at his desk.

principle

A principle is a rule or standard for personal conduct, a natural law, or a fundamental truth or doctrine that forms a belief system: it’s never used to describe a person. Principle is a noun; its adjective form is principled.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” is one of the basic principles of Christianity.

The high school principal was a person of high principles.
Your principles help you tell right from wrong.

☛ To help you tell these two words apart, remember the phrase, “The school principal is your pal.” A principal can be a person, but a principle never is.

Another trick relates to the spellings of synonyms for each word. If you can substitute the word main, which contains an a, then principal is the right choice. If you can substitute the word rule, which ends in –le, then principle is the correct word.

Photo credits:

Photo 1: Photo by Fort George G. Meade Public Affairs Office on Flickr CC BY-2.0

Photo 2: Image by Click on 👍🏼👍🏼, consider ☕ Thank you! 🤗 from Pixabay