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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And that’s the exact advantage Mansfield Summit’s smothering defense created in the Class 5A Division II state championship.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Joveljić, along with Stephen Afrifa, set up an insurance goal by Johnsen in the 74th minute for a 2-0 advantage.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Just this month, England’s Northern Ballet premiered Gentleman Jack, which has the extremely rare distinction of being full-length ballet with a lesbian protagonist.—
Chloe Angyal,
Time,
9 Mar. 2026
-
That distinction belongs to a 2003 Ferrari Enzo.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini has earned praise from every opposing coach across the league in his first two NHL seasons, and Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff also took a minute Tuesday to extoll the 19-year-old’s virtues.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
10 Mar. 2026
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Executives have been preaching the virtues of consolidation, framing it as the only way for legacy media companies to compete with technology companies.—
Lucas Shaw,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That extra compensation was added to the overall pool and doesn’t decrease the overall value of the units.—
Doug Feinberg,
Twin Cities,
16 Mar. 2026
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Instead of simply disposing of plastic, this approach upcycles environmental waste into a high-value medical resource, thereby reducing the industry’s ecological footprint while benefiting human health.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Despite harsh criticism by Republicans and homeschooling families, Democrats defended each of the bills on the merits.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Attempt to see the merits, the intent, the thinking.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cardinal virtue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cardinal%20virtue. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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