Another word for principal

principal Synonyms

principal

modif.

leading, chief, first, head, primary, prime, main, foremost, cardinal, key, major, essential, capital, important, preeminent, highest, supreme, premier, prominent, dominant, predominant, predominating, supereminent, controlling, ruling, superior, prevailing, paramount, greatest, front rank, highest-ranking, top-ranking, ranking, starring, star, stellar, incomparable, peerless, matchless, transcendent, unequaled, unrivaled, unsurpassed, maximum, crowning, sovereign, second to none, ultimate, mainline, world-class, number one*.

Antonyms unimportant*, secondary, accessory.

principal is applied to the thing or person having precedence over all others by reason of size, position, importance, etc. the principal rivers of Africa; chief is applied to a person or thing first in rank, authority, importance, significance, etc., and usually connotes subordination of all others chief executive officer, the chief advantages; main, in strict usage, is applied to the thing, often part of a system or an extensive whole, that is preeminent in size, power, importance, etc. the main line of a railroad; leading may stress capacity for guiding, conducting, or drawing others as well as implying a position first in importance or rank a leading light of the community; foremost suggests being first by having moved ahead to that position the foremost statesman of our time; capital is applied to that which is ranked at the head of its kind or class because of its importance or its special significance the capital city

principal Synonyms

principal

n.

chief, head, chief party, master; see administrator.

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WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.