“The school's principle made an announcement.”
Confusables Entry 291 / 1011 60-second read
Principal vs. Principle
A person or main thing versus a fundamental rule or belief.
The comparisoni
“The school's principal made an announcement.”
More examplesii
01
The principle called all students to the assembly.
The principal called all students to the assembly.
02
He was a man of strong principals.
He was a man of strong principles.
03
The principle amount on the loan was $50,000.
The principal amount on the loan was $50,000.
04
The principal of thermodynamics states that energy is conserved.
The principle of thermodynamics states that energy is conserved.
05
Our principle concern is customer satisfaction.
Our principal concern is customer satisfaction.
06
The accused was identified as a principle in the case.
The accused was identified as a principal in the case.
The ruleiii
¶
PRINCIPAL = a person in charge, or main/chief (adjective).
They're pronounced identically and differ by only one letter at the end. Both feel 'important', which makes the brain substitute one for the other freely.
Memory aidiv
Remember it like this
A principAL is your pAL. A principlE is a rulE — both end in E. If you're talking about a person or 'main thing', it's principal.