principle

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈprɪnsɪpəl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈprɪnsəpəl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(prin′sə pəl)

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WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2026:

Principal Translations
InglésEspañol
principle n (basic rule)principio nm
 Our company operates on the principle of complete dedication from all our staff.
 Nuestra compañía opera sobre el principio de la dedicación completa de parte de nuestros empleados.
principle n often plural (moral tenet)principio nm
  moral nf
 So, you got your girlfriend pregnant and then left her? Don't you have any principles?!
 ¿Embarazaste a tu novia y después la dejaste? ¿No tienes ningún principio?
principle n often plural (personal rule)principio nm
 Eating meat is against my principles.
 Comer carne va en contra de mis principios.
principle n (science: natural law)principio nm
  ley nf
 It is a scientific principle that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
 Es un principio científico que la energía no puede crearse ni destruirse.
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Additional Translations
InglésEspañol
principle n (method)procedimiento nm
  método nm
 These two devices work on the same principle.
 Estos dos dispositivos funcionan con el mismo procedimiento.
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WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2026:

Compound Forms:
InglésEspañol
active principle n (pharmacology: ingredient) (farmacología)principio activo loc nm
agreement in principle n (accept an idea in theory)aceptación en principio nf
 Uno puede manifestar su aceptación en principio, pero sabe que en la práctica las cosas se dan de manera muy diferente.
Archimedes' principle,
Archimedes' law n		 (physics: bouyancy in fluid) (física)principio de Arquímedes loc nom m
as a matter of principle expr (on moral grounds)por cuestión de principios expr
 Casi la mitad de los estadounidenses dicen oponerse al aborto por cuestión de principios.
exclusion principle,
Pauli exclusion principle n		 (physics) (de Pauli)principio de exclusión nm + loc adj
guiding principle n (primary rule for conduct)principio rector nm + adj
 Mark's guiding principle was to treat other people in the same way you would like them to treat you.
 El principio rector de Mark era tratar a otros de la misma forma en que él quería ser tratado.
in principle adv (theoretically)en principio loc adv
 Though I believe in honesty in principle, I often find myself telling little lies to avoid hurting people's feelings.
 Aunque en principio creo en la sinceridad, a menudo me encuentro diciendo pequeñas mentiras para evitar lastimar los sentimientos de los demás.
man of principle,
person of principle,
woman of principle n		 (always follows moral beliefs)hombre de principios nm + loc adj
  mujer de principios nf + loc adj
on principle adv (because of a moral belief)por principio loc adv
 Adam buys only organic meat, on principle.
principle of superposition,
superposition principle n		 (physics)principio de superposición loc nom m
reality principle n (psychology: [sth] that motivates child) (psicología)principio de la realidad loc nom m
territoriality principle n (law: public international law)principio de territorialidad loc nom m
uncertainty principle,
indeterminacy principle,
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle n		 (quantum mechanics)principio de incertidumbre loc nom m
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'principle' aparece también en las siguientes entradas:
In the English description:
additionality - anima - animus - axiom - basis - cause and effect - collectivism - conservation of charge - conservation of mass - dictate - doctrine - double standard - environmental liability - esthetic - ethic - fundament - ground rule - guiding - habeas corpus - hold fast to - in theory - keynote - least action - logos - ministerial responsibility - monism - monist - Monroe Doctrine - polestar - precept - rallying point - rudiment - rule of law - tenet - unity - universal - unwritten law - user pays - yang - yin
Spanish:
enunciado - principio - regla - toral - dogma - en principio - línea de conducta - máxima - principio jurídico

Collocations: a [design, teaching, farming] principle, [a universal, a working, an overriding, an established, a central] principle, [run, managed] on [traditional, modern] principles, more...

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See Google Translate's machine translation of 'principle'.

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