as in main
coming before all others in importance
the cardinal rule of medicine: do no harm
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Recent Examples of cardinal
Former Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan will be replaced as cardinal in New York.
—
Jr Radcliffe, jsonline.com, 19 Dec. 2025
Changing that state of affairs, and doing so as quickly as possible, is a cardinal European task.
—Ilan Berman, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
Nearby, a stone pagoda bears a tall, striking pillar which has four Buddha faces — one per cardinal direction.
—Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 27 Nov. 2025
There are three such cardinal winds, each of them gods and all of them supposedly siblings, three male and the fourth, a southeasterly that tends to blow in the wet winter season, female.
—Big Think, 18 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cardinal
Jr Radcliffe, jsonline.com, 19 Dec. 2025
Changing that state of affairs, and doing so as quickly as possible, is a cardinal European task.
—Ilan Berman, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
Nearby, a stone pagoda bears a tall, striking pillar which has four Buddha faces — one per cardinal direction.
—Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 27 Nov. 2025
There are three such cardinal winds, each of them gods and all of them supposedly siblings, three male and the fourth, a southeasterly that tends to blow in the wet winter season, female.
—Big Think, 18 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cardinal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cardinal
Adjective
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White actually carried main voice Terry Gannon through parts of the broadcast.—
John Cherwa,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
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Shah’s daughter, Smita Shah, is a finance committee vice chair for Stratton’s main campaign fund, Juliana for Illinois.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The Gates Foundation and OpenAI have launched a $50 million program to bring AI capabilities to 1,000 primary health care clinics across Africa.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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The Amazon-like company has been subjected to a number of investigations, raids, and inspections initiated by the Korea Fair Trade Commission, the country’s primary antitrust regulator, in recent years.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But the predominant response has been one of welcome, support and encouragement.—
Will Barker,
TheWeek,
10 Feb. 2026
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For the past fifty years, the predominant theory held that our capacity to parse complicated syntax rested on specialized, innate faculties.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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According to the Washington Post, there's currently about $200 million in political bets riding on the two dominant prediction platforms, Kalshi and Polymarket.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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Dee Valladares is widely considered the most dominant winner in Survivor’s new era.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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About Artforum Artforum is the magazine of record for the contemporary art industry and holds the unique roles of institution, nexus, and foremost tastemaker of the art world.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
11 Feb. 2026
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Here are the foremost players who hit that category for the Broncos in 2026, according to OvertheCap.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But more recently, the principal economic events of the past two decades — like the 2008 financial crisis — have had far more global implications.—
Josh Ederington,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
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Jessica Luna is the owner and principal designer of JLL Interiors.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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This offers a big potential advantage.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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The blow was particularly devastating because the show has no big investors or grant financing, Smook said.—
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In August 2025, a 1,063-square-foot home on the first block of South Claremont Avenue in San Jose sold for $915,000, a price per square foot of $861.—
Unitedrobotsrealestate,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
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Food preferences begin in the first years of life, so the findings of the study are alarming, said Jane Houlihan, research director for Healthy Babies, Bright Futures, an alliance of nonprofits, scientists and donors with a mission of reducing babies’ exposures to neurotoxic chemicals.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cardinal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cardinal. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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