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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cardinal virtue
Courage, self-discipline, and AI The other two cardinal virtues (there are four in all) are courage and self-discipline.
—
Andrew Abela, Forbes.com, 24 July 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
Prudence, or practical wisdom, is the foremost among the cardinal virtues.
—Bruno V. Manno, Forbes.com, 14 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
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
Prudence, or practical wisdom, is the foremost among the cardinal virtues.
—Bruno V. Manno, Forbes.com, 14 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
-
The nation’s two most populous states — California and Texas — grappled for political advantage in advance of 2026 elections that could reorder the balance of power in Washington and threaten President Donald Trump’s agenda at the midpoint of his second term.—
Michael R. Blood,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Aug. 2025
-
But if Florida were to redraw the maps, groups could still challenge it as a gerrymander even if DeSantis never explicitly mentions the political advantage.—
Romy Ellenbogen,
Miami Herald,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
This is really the distinction between Maslow’s self-actualization and self-transcendence.—
Arianna Huffington,
Time,
8 Aug. 2025
-
His second wife, rich and vulgar, is the polar opposite of the first duchess’s distinction, just as Paracelsus’s elegant opacity is a better version of the paltry resident magician and alchemist whom the duke can afford.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
And both the book and the film offered historically nonsensical versions of the Klan as an honorable and chivalrous group fighting for social justice and the virtue of white womanhood.—
Jody Mamone,
Hartford Courant,
15 Aug. 2025
-
That might sound sadistic; indeed, sadism is something of a Hitchcockian virtue.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The weather service said heat index values are expected to climb into the upper 90s to near 100 degrees in the metro.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
5 Aug. 2025
-
No dollar value for the benefits was included in the documents provided at the board meeting.—
Mike Danahey,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The Tony Award-winning show — about three friends who debate the merits of a ridiculously expensive painting — was written by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
6 Aug. 2025
-
In a March interview with the Tribune, State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke discussed certificates of innocence generally and said her office has set a high bar for evaluating the merits of such petitions.—
Sam Charles,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cardinal virtue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cardinal%20virtue. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share