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
Tolerance became the cardinal virtue of modern liberalism, but tolerance cannot sustain a civilization.
—
Carolyn McKinney, Boston Herald, 22 Sep. 2025
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
Carolyn McKinney, Boston Herald, 22 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cardinal virtue
Noun
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The Cougars finished with four turnovers and held a 26-8 advantage in points in the paint.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Columbus blanked the Blackhawks on their two power-play chances, running their string of futility to 26 man-advantages and 10 games without a goal.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The distinction is semantic, not economic.—
James Broughel,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Yeah, so the law has this long-standing distinction between what the lawyers would call prospective relief and retrospective relief.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Maybe Albro would raise concerns that the police weren’t doing enough to protect young women’s virtues, or Matthews would criticize the lack of a similar dragnet to find the killer of Mary Tate.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The author’s work makes an excellent case that literature can explore virtue—even if his latest novel reveals its pitfalls.—
Julius Taranto,
The Atlantic,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA created counter-programming to Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show performance that the organization says is more aligned with their values.—
Sandra Gonzalez,
CNN Money,
2 Feb. 2026
-
An extreme cold watch is issued when dangerously cold air temperatures or wind chill values are possible.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This is not to say that diversity and academic merit will never be in tension in college admissions, especially given the large disparities in access to high-quality K-12 education and other resources before children apply to college.—
Raj Chetty,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
-
In an area award, nominees are judged individually on their own merits.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cardinal virtue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cardinal%20virtue. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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