principal

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. chief, leader, head; constituent, client; buyer, seller; capital, corpus. See money. —adj. foremost, chief, prime, greatest, main, leading. See importance.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. 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*.

Ant. unimportant*, secondary, accessory.

Syn.- 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 ] n.

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

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. chief head, actor, performer, player, star, combatant.

2. headmaster dean.

II

a.

main, major, chief, leading, primary, dominant, foremost, supreme, star, key, most important.

ANT.: secondary, supporting, minor

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I adjective 1. Most important, influential, or significant: capital, cardinal, chief, first, foremost, key, leading, main, major, number one, paramount, premier, primary, prime, top. See IMPORTANT. 2. Having or exercising authority: chief, head. See OVER. II noun The main performer in a theatrical production: lead, protagonist, star. See PERFORMING ARTS.