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
Brittany Pierola Diaz, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2025
Janine admits that Ava is doing perfectly fine without her job as principal, while Melissa and Gregory ask her for the key to the code.
—Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2025
Nichelle Cole, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Additional principal cast members include Lisa Helmi Johanson, Eddie Korbich, Remi Tuckman, Yair Keydar, Adam Pascal and Tamkia Lawrence.
—Dave Quinn, People.com, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for principal
Noun
For the second year in a row, the five open restrooms are mirrorless, a decision the school’s principal said is an attempt to reduce tardiness and distractions caused by students crowding around mirrors, putting on makeup and touching up their hair.
—Brittany Pierola Diaz, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2025
Janine admits that Ava is doing perfectly fine without her job as principal, while Melissa and Gregory ask her for the key to the code.
—Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
Nichelle Cole, an HR and workforce optimization expert, is the principal HR consultant and lead strategist at NCPR World.
—Nichelle Cole, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Additional principal cast members include Lisa Helmi Johanson, Eddie Korbich, Remi Tuckman, Yair Keydar, Adam Pascal and Tamkia Lawrence.
—Dave Quinn, People.com, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for principal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for principal
Noun
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In this age of TV dominance of a culture that moves on fast, producers are trying to snag stars at the moment of their peak appeal.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
6 Apr. 2025
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Here are three takeaways from the Royals-O’s series: Kris Bubic stars in starter’s role The Royals always knew Bubic had the intangibles to become a big-league starting pitcher.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Sean Penn co-stars as the film’s main villain, a steely-eyed colonel who looked pretty frigging scary in the footage, while Benicio del Toro is DiCaprio’s gun-toting, gonzo comrade.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
2 Apr. 2025
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The president has touted these tariffs as a way to help the US government rely less on income taxes as a main form of revenue.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The upturn was the result of somewhat lower mortgage interest rates and more homes for sale, said Jordan Levine, senior vice president and chief economist at the California Association of Realtors.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
2 Apr. 2025
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Previously, Gray spent more than 13 years at Adidas with his most recent role as senior business unit director of U.S. basketball and was the chief marketing officer at sports supplement brand Ladder, cofounded by LeBron James and Arnold Schwarzenegger.—
Kanika Talwar,
Footwear News,
2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Even when wives are the primary or sole earners, husbands' contributions to housework remain largely unchanged, increasing only slightly when wives are sole earners.—
John W. Dean,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Apr. 2025
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As the cool new kid in town, his Tommy Oliver was transformed into one of the core team of rangers' (Amy Jo Johnson, David Yost, Austin St. John, Walter Emanuel Jones, and Thuy Trang) primary adversaries: the fearsome Green Ranger.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Through them, the Chinese firm has persuaded the president to defend a tool wielded by America’s foremost foreign adversary.—
The Editors,
National Review,
5 Apr. 2025
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Donovan is one of the world’s foremost experts on Steve, a light spectacle that has only recently been studied and is occasionally visible in northern latitudes during an aurora.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Since launching his campaign in March, Cuomo has taken a commanding lead in the polls and siphoned some of Adams’s old political coalition.—
David Sivak,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
24 Mar. 2025
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The Big Cat still holds a commanding lead in career earnings at $120,999,166.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The policies announced so far in Trump's current term are on track to push the average tariff to 22.5%, per the Yale Budget Lab. Flashback: From the colonial era through the early 1900s, tariffs were the predominant source of the federal government's revenue.—
Neil Irwin,
Axios,
5 Apr. 2025
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During oral arguments, Louisiana and its backers sought to argue that there was a difference between considering race when creating the congressional maps versus viewing race as the predominant factor.—
Zach Schonfeld,
The Hill,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Federal agents found photos of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iran’s supreme leader that had been deleted in a folder on Alawieh’s cell phone, a source familiar with the case told CNN.—
Andy Rose,
CNN,
20 Mar. 2025
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But this year, the roundball — not the pigskin — reigns supreme.—
Elizabeth Robinson,
NBC News,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Principal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/principal. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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