ADJ
- basic, broad, central, fundamental, general
- the basic principles of car maintenance
- cardinal, essential, key
- universal
- democratic, legal, market, political, scientific, theoretical
VERB + PRINCIPLE
- establish, formulate, lay down
- apply
- explain
PRINCIPLE + VERB
- apply
- This principle applies to all kinds of selling
- underlie sth, underpin sth
- the principles underlying Western philosophy
PREP
- in ~
- I agree with you in principle, but we'll need to discuss the details
- ~ behind
- She went on to explain the principles behind what she was doing
ADJ
- high
- guiding
- Christian
- moral
- He was a man of high moral principles
VERB + PRINCIPLE
- betray, compromise
- I refuse to compromise my principles by eating meat
- adhere to, stick to
- She sticks to the principle that everyone should be treated equally
PREP
- against your ~s
- Eating meat was against her principles
- on ~
- She's opposed to abortion on principle
PHRASES
- a matter of principle
- They reject the proposal as a matter of principle
- a person of principle (= a person with high moral standards)