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
The cardinal texture sin, chalkiness, is often caused by undercooked interiors or residual starch.
—
Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 7 Jan. 2026
Constructed using stones weighing up to 10 tons and aligned with cardinal directions, the monuments suggest advanced spatial planning and possible astronomical knowledge.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cardinal
Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 7 Jan. 2026
Constructed using stones weighing up to 10 tons and aligned with cardinal directions, the monuments suggest advanced spatial planning and possible astronomical knowledge.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cardinal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cardinal
Adjective
-
The district’s major facilities overhaul is set to bring freshman students back into Neuqua’s main building starting in 2027, which will free up Birkett to house a number of district programs.—
Molly Morrow,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Hitting this target should be your main priority in the months ahead.—
Christine Benz,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Political logic Netanyahu has for decades framed Iran as Israel’s primary existential threat, shaping Israel’s security policy, diplomatic efforts and public discourse around it.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Friday is the deadline to file to appear on the primary election ballot.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The predominant weather pattern, consisting of high atmospheric pressure, low humidity and spring-like warmth, has kept any rain chances infrequent and short-lived.—
Anthony Franze,
San Antonio Express-News,
26 Feb. 2026
-
With the war increasingly breaking down along the country’s predominant Arab and African ethnic groups, Sudan faces the task of rebuilding a national identity along with all the other trappings of a state.—
Cameron Hudson,
semafor.com,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Standing at 6-foot-3, Crooks is noted as one of the most dominant post players in college basketball.—
Alexa Stone
Updated March 4,
Kansas City Star,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Iran's capabilities are evaporating by the hour, while American strength grows fiercer, smarter and utterly dominant.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For the past twenty years, Sharon has largely embodied the latter path, for which he has been recognized as one of the world’s foremost modernizers of opera.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Van Lent had devoted his career to the Florida Everglades, becoming its foremost hydrologist, mapping the flow of water and studying how that affected the entire system.—
Michael Adno,
Rolling Stone,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The agency said that waterfowl including mallard ducks are thought to be the principal asymptomatic carriers of HPAI.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Around Labor Day in 1989, Cunningham was joined from the East Coast by Binda and their son Christopher, then almost 6 and daughter Alexandra, who was 2 and later became a principal dancer for the company.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Amid the war with Iran and concern over that country's very capable cyber threat, Cramer will hear from Kurtz, one of the biggest leaders in the cybersecurity industry.—
Jason Gewirtz,
CNBC,
4 Mar. 2026
-
That’s the biggest growth period in US oil industry since production surged in World War II following the Great Depression.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
An hour before the first AES Indiana community open house for the year was set to happen, the electric company said it had been cancelled due to threats.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
4 Mar. 2026
-
After the first tech, Self continued to argue and was assessed a second technical by a different official, which caused his ejection.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cardinal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cardinal. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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