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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The drinks themselves Berghain’s drink selection is certainly not the club’s main point of attraction.—
Jessica Chapel,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
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Then his main competitor, Yuma Yagiyama of Japan, had a subpar skate just before Malinin took the ice as the last skater of the night.—
John Cherwa,
Los Angeles Times,
14 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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The principal production company for the film must be based in Uruguay.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
15 Feb. 2026
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The six chamber-music concerts, which are performed by cream-of-the-crop principal players and concertmasters from top orchestras across North America, will still be led by Michael Francis, who has been Mainly Mozart’s music director since 2014.—
Beth Wood,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 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 18 Feb. 2026.
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