Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of principal

12 similar words

Another word for principal is headmaster. Other synonyms of principal are headteacher and headmistress.

Synonyms and similar words for principal

adjectivePrimary; most important; first level in importance.

  • chiefPrimary; principal.
  • mainOf chief or leading importance; prime, principal.
  • primaryMain; principal; chief; placed ahead of others.
  • capital

nounThe chief administrator of a school.

  • headteacherThe most senior teacher in a school who is responsible for its management and administration.
  • headmasterA male headteacher.
  • headmistressA female headteacher.

nounThe chief executive and chief academic officer of a university or college.

nounA legal person that authorizes another (the agent) to act on their behalf; or on whose behalf an...

nounThe primary participant in a crime.

nounA partner or owner of a business.

Meaning of principal

  1. adjective Primary; most important; first level in importance.
  2. adjective Of or relating to a prince; princely.
  3. adjective Chosen or assumed among a branch of possible values of a multi-valued function so that the function is single-valued.

Full definition of principal

principal in other languages

Questions about synonyms of principal

What is another word for principal?
Principal has 12 synonyms on Word.ws, such as headmaster, headteacher and headmistress.
What does principal mean?
Principal means primary; most important; first level in importance.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: principal (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this page: “Synonyms of principal.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/principal. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.