as in principles
formal
a statement by an authority of how people should behave
the moral precepts of a religion
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Recent Examples of precepts
To speak in the register of faith—not a particular sect or even God, but a grounding belief in a higher order—is to reach beyond partisanship, to try to return to basic moral precepts.
—
Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
Kutcher’s character—the richest man in the world, who calls himself The Corporation—has, in defiance of all ethical, legal, and medical precepts, developed The Beauty.
—Judy Berman, Time, 21 Jan. 2026
Guided by its own creed, Beijing tends to wield economic power according to its own precepts rather than global norms or external expectations.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Some precepts are unassuming — practice tolerance, be generous towards those in need, regard humanity as a family.
—Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 5 Dec. 2025
Rival Dillard’s, a primarily Southern and Southwestern chain with 290 stores, has also seen modest growth by following those basic retail precepts.
—Phil Wahba, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2025
Change is inevitable, but the rapid destruction of the basic precepts upon which our government was formed is beyond dangerous.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2025
Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
Kutcher’s character—the richest man in the world, who calls himself The Corporation—has, in defiance of all ethical, legal, and medical precepts, developed The Beauty.
—Judy Berman, Time, 21 Jan. 2026
Guided by its own creed, Beijing tends to wield economic power according to its own precepts rather than global norms or external expectations.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Some precepts are unassuming — practice tolerance, be generous towards those in need, regard humanity as a family.
—Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 5 Dec. 2025
Rival Dillard’s, a primarily Southern and Southwestern chain with 290 stores, has also seen modest growth by following those basic retail precepts.
—Phil Wahba, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2025
Change is inevitable, but the rapid destruction of the basic precepts upon which our government was formed is beyond dangerous.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for precepts
Noun
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Despite solid economic growth, booming stock values, cooling inflation and a stable unemployment rate, the economic gains have been uneven.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
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Auction values are based on 12-team, 26-player rosters with a $260 budget.—
Jake Ciely,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Heat strengthens pure metals Standard metallurgical rules dictate that heat eases atomic movement, rendering metals more pliable and simpler to reshape under normal conditions.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Feb. 2026
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Employers then automatically increase your contributions by 1% of your paya year until the contributions reach between 8% and 10%, depending on state rules.—
Jeanne Sahadi,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Also slashed was $4 million that had been awarded to California under the Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation (RECI) program, which supports new energy efficient building codes.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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Permitting rules and building codes can also be a barrier.—
Vanessa Bates Ramirez,
Scientific American,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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His preference would be to find simpler axioms for quantum mechanics — intuitive principles that would let theorists re-derive the theory in a new form altogether.—
Daniel Garisto,
Quanta Magazine,
7 Nov. 2025
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In other words, as Cleveland tore through the league last season, the players responded to most of the milestones reached with a collective shrug and worn axioms about nothing mattering until the playoffs.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Maybe anyone planning long journeys should take those maxims as advice anyhow.—
Michael Teo Van Runkle,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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The rest of the book is spent expanding on these maxims one by one, in her colloquial, easy style, with references to classic psychological studies, her own research and her own experiences.—
Lamorna Ash,
The Dial,
25 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The letter, an admonition to King’s fellow faith leaders, describes a moral responsibility to break laws that are unjust.—
Caitlin Hu,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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Existing particles will now obey new laws of physics, and so existing structures will be destroyed and replaced by new structures that obey different laws.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Precepts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precepts. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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