How to Use in principle in a Sentence

in principle

phrase
  • Such a thing had been feasible in principle for almost two decades.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 July 2026
  • The new tool does it in minutes—which means, in principle, every drug can be approved two months sooner.
    — Avik Roy, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • Chelsea and Welbeck have an agreement in principle on a two-year contract.
    — David Ornstein, New York Times, 28 July 2026
  • It can, in principle, get folded into the next model update and sold back to a competitor.
    — Neda Nia, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Bigger eruptions eject more sulfur dioxide and, in principle, cause more cooling.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Two firms examining the same company should, in principle, reach the same opinion.
    — Amir Tarighat, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • The problem is straightforward in principle but difficult to solve.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Most people agree in principle that patients should direct their own lives and medical decisions.
    — Christopher Campos, STAT, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Some of them will be only ameliorated or policed; others might be unsolvable in principle.
    — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Everton have reached an agreement in principle to sign Christian Norgaard from Arsenal for a fee in the region of £7million.
    — David Ornstein, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Questions around beauty and longing recur, as do keywords (such as ‘password’), names, references and scenic features, but what fascinated me most is that in principle each episode could be read as a little patchy universe on its own.
    — Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Setting a price for electricity is straightforward in principle but complicated in execution.
    — Theodore J. Kury, Fortune, 14 July 2026
  • There is a tendency in institutional finance to treat cultural understanding as a qualitative add-on, valuable in principle but difficult to weight against hard risk factors.
    — Amer Al Ahbabi, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • The complexity of setting prices Setting a price for electricity is straightforward in principle but complicated in execution.
    — Theodore J. Kury, The Conversation, 6 July 2026
  • Native traditions have repeatedly been acknowledged in principle – named, counted, formally recognized – but weakly protected in practice.
    — Kerri J. Malloy, The Conversation, 9 July 2026
  • Its stablecoin ordinance, in force since August 2025, permits coins referencing any fiat currency in principle, and the city holds the world's largest offshore renminbi pool, around one trillion yuan.
    — Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Newcastle United had reached an agreement in principle with Freiburg to sign Manzambi, though the midfielder had yet to decide on his preferred destination, allowing Villa to step up their interest.
    — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 17 July 2026
  • Using an algorithm devised by mathematician Peter Shor in 1994, quantum computers could in principle rapidly crack such encryption.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 7 July 2026
  • The project, agreed in principle with the Fujairah Ports Authority under a 50-year concession, includes a container and multi-purpose terminal and a general-cargo terminal.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 23 July 2026
  • The project to replace the 102-year-old Main Stand and make other improvements to the stadium has dragged on and on since it was first unveiled in 2017 and planning permission was granted in principle in 2018.
    — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 30 June 2026
  • The Athletic reported on June 26 that Bayern Munich have reached an agreement in principle to sign defender Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt.
    — Leon Imber, New York Times, 1 July 2026
  • Seb Stafford-Bloor Borussia Dortmund have reached an agreement in principle to sign Netherlands international midfielder Joey Veerman from PSV.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Last month, the Clippers agreed in principle to trade Leonard to the Raptors for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap, and two second-round picks.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 July 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'in principle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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