as in advantage
a quality that gives something special worth
the cardinal virtue of wool is that it retains its insulating properties even when wet
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Recent Examples of cardinal virtue
Practical wisdom, justice, and AI The cardinal virtues of practical wisdom and justice are the habits for deciding, fairly, what needs to be done.
—
Andrew Abela, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Aquinas also noted that each of these four cardinal virtues had several smaller virtues associated with them.
—Andrew Abela, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
Doubt is a cardinal virtue in the sciences, which advance through skeptics’ willingness to question the experts.
—Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2020
Breaching tennis’ cardinal virtues of self-sufficiency and autonomy, the coach begins by telling this emotional woman to calm down.
—Jon Wertheim, SI.com, 11 Apr. 2018
Dialogue is one of their cardinal virtues, and most seemed determined to give Trump a hearing.
—Time, 25 Jan. 2018
Andrew Abela, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Aquinas also noted that each of these four cardinal virtues had several smaller virtues associated with them.
—Andrew Abela, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
Doubt is a cardinal virtue in the sciences, which advance through skeptics’ willingness to question the experts.
—Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2020
Breaching tennis’ cardinal virtues of self-sufficiency and autonomy, the coach begins by telling this emotional woman to calm down.
—Jon Wertheim, SI.com, 11 Apr. 2018
Dialogue is one of their cardinal virtues, and most seemed determined to give Trump a hearing.
—Time, 25 Jan. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cardinal virtue
Noun
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Boomsma said any traits the ants have evolved are adaptations driven by natural selection, and creating fitter hybrid workers provided a competitive advantage, allowing Iberian harvester ants to extend their range vastly.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
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The Wave now hold a 6-2-1 advantage in the all-time regular season series.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The only Sacagawea dollar coin sold at the auction without the distinction of having been flown to space was sold for $120,000.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
15 Sep. 2025
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The biggest distinction is at coordinator.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In Israel, resilience is not treated as a soft virtue but as a critical capability to absorb shocks, adapt fast, and rebuild after failure.—
Rchin Bari,
Boston Herald,
10 Sep. 2025
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That’s a shame because one of the biggest virtues of Zoox’s symmetrical 4-wheel-steering design is superior ability to do general PuDo.—
Brad Templeton,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Which enterprise strategies will unlock the most value as organizations race to move from experimentation to full-scale adoption?—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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There was also plenty of fluff, not really containing enough nutritional value to be called word salad.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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All of this brings us back to Bolt, whose prognostication has merit.—
Cory Mull,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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The cheese curds alone at The Old Fashioned merit an honorable mention.—
The Athletic College Football Staff,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cardinal virtue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cardinal%20virtue. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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