as in star
the person who has the most important role in a play, movie, or TV show
my cousin is one of the principals in a new sitcom this fall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in main
coming before all others in importance
our principal reason for coming here today
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in chief
highest in rank or authority
the principal researcher in the company's chemical division
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of principal
Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2026
The bankruptcy court has approved $10 million to pursue legal claims against former Prospect principals, with Leonard Green and Prospect’s former top executives, Lee and Topper, as the big targets.
—Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 9 Apr. 2026
Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
Andrea Dussault is the founder and principal designer of Striped Lemon Design.
—Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for principal
Noun
Board members Bill Haley and Regina Garrett voiced opposition to the proposal Thursday night and suggested more money should go to teachers and principals.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2026
The bankruptcy court has approved $10 million to pursue legal claims against former Prospect principals, with Leonard Green and Prospect’s former top executives, Lee and Topper, as the big targets.
—Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
Roy Derks, a principal product manager at IBM, has OpenClaw set up on his home Mac mini and communicates with it through an app like WhatsApp or Telegram.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
Andrea Dussault is the founder and principal designer of Striped Lemon Design.
—Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for principal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for principal
Noun
-
But Cukor, who hit his thirty-year up-or-out deadline without getting a star, had long since been removed to lucrative work in the private sector.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Sox fans are still waiting on Munetaka Murakami, the Japanese star whose slugging was going to make the fireworks budget increase exponentially, to start hitting with some regularity.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Shuttle services have been arranged to transport journalists between the media center and a hotel in the city’s main shopping mall.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
But the leak appeared to get worse when the service module fired its main engine for the translunar injection burn on Day 2 of the flight, according to Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
During the call, chief operating officer Dan Janki ruled out short-term concerns about jet fuel shortages.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Outside of the labels, Moises AI, a non-generative AI music service that provides tools for musicians (like vocal isolation and mastering) appointed Charlie Puth as its chief music officer earlier this month, with the singer serving as a consultant for the company’s creative and product direction.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Persian is the primary language of Iran.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms are spread across the house, including the primary bedroom suite.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Just last month it was reported that Cesar Chavez, the United Farm Workers organiser, raped women and girls, and Noam Chomsky—one of the left’s foremost intellectuals whose most popular book is called Manufacturing Consent—is right there on the Epstein private jet.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
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The number of people with severe acute malnutrition, the most dangerous and deadly kind, is expected to increase to 800,000, the world’s foremost experts on food security, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, said in February.—
Samy Magdy,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Starlink has 10,000 satellites, a commanding lead over Amazon’s 200-strong Leo constellation; Globalstar has a further 25, but the real prize is control over part of the electromagnetic spectrum.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
16 Apr. 2026
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In the case of Project Nightingale, that number is constrained by the fact that only 100 examples of the commanding convertible will be built.—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Romney and Abbott said leaders of the state's predominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have taken steps to promote the lake's restoration.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Once a technically complicated legal rarity used to challenge improper incarcerations, habeas corpus petitions have become the predominant avenue for immigrants seeking release from detentions that increasingly end only with a deportation order.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Although based on the Sanskrit Ramayana attributed to Valmiki, Tulsidas’s work is a theological reenvisioning in which Rama appears throughout as the supreme god rather than as a heroic human figure.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Apr. 2026
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Demonstrators gather under a portrait of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on Thursday.—
Katherine Doyle,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Principal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/principal. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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