PRINCIPLED Synonyms: 117 Similar and Opposite Words

principled

adjective

ˈprin(t)-s(ə-)pəld

Definition of principled

as in honorable

following the accepted rules of moral conduct a high-principled art expert who always told clients what he honestly thought their items were worth

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in ethical

guided by or in accordance with one's sense of right and wrong a politician widely respected for her principled behavior in every office she ever held

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of principled President Burchfield is a principled politician who rose to office by trusting his heartland instincts. — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026 This tension unfolds with riveting restraint in a story set in 1960s Nagaland — the eastern Indian state on the Burmese border — following the principled chief of a waning tribe, and the arrival of an American missionary. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026 In the ever more precarious world of academia, the neck of the principled luddite crank might be particularly attractive when institutions swing the axe in the next round of layoffs. — Dónal Gill, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026 In an awful instant, two boys lose their mother and the movie loses any kind of principled posture. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for principled

Recent Examples of Synonyms for principled

Adjective

Younger and middle-aged elites are also less inclined to put up with the careers and sacrifices the state has historically presented as honorable.

— Jieun Baek, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2026
Drawing district lines to effectively disenfranchise voters and ensure a seat in Congress for some partisan hack was a dark-of-night sort of thing that the public hated, not an honorable practice for upstanding citizens.

— J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of honorable

Adjective

Milei has also embraced data centers and a largely unfettered approach to artificial intelligence regulation, while Pope Leo's inaugural encyclical called for ethical caution and safeguards to protect human dignity in the age of AI.

— Carrie Kahn, NPR, 7 Nov. 2026
Lawyers are officers of the court, bound by ethical obligations to pursue claims in good faith and not abuse the legal process for improper purposes.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of ethical

Adjective

Keeping a running list of questions that go beyond the scope of what the agent was built to handle functions as an honest product roadmap.

— Rob Green, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
And when side effects feel unbearable, patients deserve honest conversations about their options.

— Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of honest

Adjective

One in five American adults has had an intimate encounter with AI, according to an MIT study, increasing the risk that some users believe AI is conscious and advocating for rights or moral status.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
That working class people live with paucity of choice, and of chances, may be considered from the outside as a moral and social ill to be reckoned with, but Betty correctly sees that this is the fact of her life and behaves and thinks accordingly.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of moral

Adjective

Blades Brown was in the field in Mexico and finished a respectable T-19, and during the event, an unsubstantiated yet absolutely hysterical rumor about the teenage phenom made the rounds in the golf world.

— Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
Figure just one team each will qualify for the playoffs out of the NFC East and NFC South, which would mean the remaining five would come from the NFC North and NFC West — and both of those divisions are respectable from top to bottom.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of respectable

Adjective

Once reading time kicked off during a recent meetup, the only sounds from the group were the quiet rustle of pages turning and the conscientious nibbling of snacks and sipping of tea as the cafe continued its bustle.

— Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 22 Oct. 2026
Even if every senator were ethical, conscientious and committed to the public good, the incentives would remain the same.

— Nicholas Jacobs, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of conscientious

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“Principled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/principled. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of principled

adjective

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