"abandoned principles" is a correct phrase and can be used in written English.
It refers to principles or beliefs that have been given up or left behind. Example: The politician's actions were a clear indication that he had abandoned principles he once strongly believed in.
And when the Americans did finally abandon principles and resort to bullying, they seemed hypocritical.
This willingness to abandon principles in the blind desire to produce results is becoming a theme of the Bush presidency.
For some, it had been caught out acting far beyond enlightened self-interest and, unpredictably, abandoning principles.
It is better to resist bad policy bravely and lose than to abandon principles and join the winning opposition.
We should not allow the Bush administration's catastrophic embrace of torture to become a justification for abandoning principles of due process that we have upheld for more than two centuries.
This is the idea that the Labour Party's obsession with winning elections – which during New Labour arguably meant abandoning principles to keep power – is simplistic.
On the firmer ground of the referendum, he has in effect organized a "national unity" government without having to abdicate leadership or abandon principles.
One of the more respected national security voices in the Democratic Party accused Republican lawmakers of abandoning principles and ignoring their own history in an effort to smear President Obama for his handling of terrorist suspects.
But Gold and other critics argue that playing the political game is no excuse for abandoning principles ― especially when these doctors groups are largely in agreement that gun violence is a major public health issue.
She is given to abrupt changes of direction, suggesting a readiness to abandon principle for political gain.
