‘Principal’ and ‘principle’ are commonly used homophones (i.e., words having the same pronunciation) one encounters in everyday language. The difference between ‘principal’ and ‘principle’ arises only due to their resemblance in spellings and pronunciation. From the meaning viewpoint there is not much common between the two.

‘Principal’ is an adjective that can also act as noun. The dictionary meaning of ‘principal as an adjective is ‘first in rank or importance’ and its synonyms are ‘main, chief, major, key, primary, prime, or leading’. As a noun the word ‘principal’ has mainly two meanings: (i) a leader, a person occupying the highest authority position, or an administrative head in an organization like a school or a college and (ii) the capital sum, as distinct from interest or revenue, borrowed from or deposited in a financial institution.

The word ‘principle’ is a noun that means ‘a fundamental truth or a general law governing a theory; a doctrine, a code of conduct, or a set of moral guidelines that forms the basis of one’s thinking and actions’. Some of the synonyms of ‘principle’ are ‘tenet, rule, belief, ideology, code, theory’. The following examples help elucidate the difference between ‘principal’ and ‘principle’:

• The principal ingredient in this natural hair dye is henna, the powdered leaves of a tropical shrub.
• The principal objective of all businessmen is to make money, and make more and more of the same.
• Today I am going to meet my daughter’s school principal regarding the new dress code issued by her.
• In some countries the fixed-deposit bank interest rates are so high that you can almost double up your principal amount in 8–10 years.
• Borrowing money from a private bank is not really feasible because of the high lending interest rates; you end up paying at least $500 per month on a principal of just $50,000.
• Freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and equal economic opportunity for all are some of the basic principles of democracy.
• It is against my principles to pay bribes or ask for undue favors.
• The Heisenberg uncertainty principle, also called the indeterminacy principle, is a fundamental concept in quantum physics according to which it is impossible to determine simultaneously the exact position and the exact velocity of a subatomic particle like an electron.
• In principle your idea sounds damn good, but the problem lies in executing it in practice.

That’s all about the difference between ‘principal’ and ‘principle’.

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