What's the difference between 'principal' and 'principle'?

• "The principal reason for the delay." (main reason)
• "The school principal." (person in charge)
• "The principal investor." (main/lead)

• "The principles of democracy."
• "She refused on principle." (based on her beliefs)
• "The principle of fairness."
• "The guiding principles of the organisation."

• princip-A-l has an A → think of "main" or a person (the princip-A-l of a school)
• principle ends in -le → think of a "rule" (both end in similar sound)

• "In principle" = in theory, as a concept: "I agree in principle."
• "A man of principle" = someone with strong personal ethics.

Register: Both are neutral. The confusion is almost entirely a spelling issue.

Tags: vocabulary, spelling, common mistakes, confusing words