Synonyms for precept
ˈpri sɛptpre·cept

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:1.3 / 4 votes

1. precept

   Doctrine primarily signifies that which is taught; principle, the fundamental basis on which the teaching rests. A doctrine is reasoned out, and may be defended by reasoning; a dogma rests on authority, as of direct revelation, the decision of the church, etc. A doctrine or dogma is a statement of some one item of belief; a creed is a summary of doctrines or dogmas. Dogma has commonly, at the present day, an offensive signification, as of a belief arrogantly asserted. Tenet is simply that which is held, and is applied to a single item of belief; it is a neutral word, neither approving nor condemning; we speak of the doctrines of our own church; of the tenets of others. A precept relates not to belief, but to conduct. Compare FAITH; LAW.

   Synonyms:
   article of belief, article of faith, belief, doctrine, dogma, principle, teaching, tenet

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.4 / 5 votes

1. precept

   Synonyms:
   rule, maxim, injunction, commandment, doctrine, direction, law, mandate, principle, instruction, command, order

   Antonyms:
   suggestion, prompting, instigation, impulse

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:2.7 / 6 votes

1. principle, preceptnoun

   rule of personal conduct

   Synonyms:
   rationale, commandment, principle, teaching, rule

2. teaching, precept, commandmentnoun

   a doctrine that is taught

   "the teachings of religion"; "he believed all the Christian precepts"

   Synonyms:
   principle, didactics, teaching, educational activity, education, pedagogy, instruction, commandment

Matched Categories

1. • Doctrine
   • Rule

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:4.0 / 1 vote

1. regulation

   regulation is like a rule.

   a rule of order having the force of law, prescribed by a superior or competent authority, relating to the actions of those under the authority's control.

   Submitted by rinat on December 2, 2015  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. preceptnoun

   Synonyms:
   command, injunction, order, mandate, edict, commandment, behest, dictate, decree, law, ordinance, ordination, regulation, canon

2. preceptnoun

   Synonyms:
   doctrine, principle, maxim, rule, direction

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. preceptnoun

   Synonyms:
   commandment, maxim, rule, adage, behest, injunction

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "precept":

   commandment, dictum

How to pronounce precept?

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use precept in a sentence?

1. George Eliot:

   It is, I fear, but a vain show of fulfilling the heathen precept, Know thyself, and too often leads to a self-estimate which will subsist in the absence of that fruit by which alone the quality of the tree is made evident.

2. Samuel Smiles:

   It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done.

3. Aesop:

   Example is the best precept.

4. Seneca:

   Wisdom does not show itself so much in precept as in life - in firmness of mind and a mastery of appetite. It teaches us to do as well as to talk; and to make our words and actions all of a color.

5. James Russell Lowell:

   Where one person shapes their life by precept and example, there are a thousand who have shaped it by impulse and circumstances.