cardinal virtue

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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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 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 researchers found that the flamingos use the motion of water to their advantage, combining techniques to funnel water—and the invertebrates within it—to their mouths.
    Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2025
  • Build combinations for maximum impact The most powerful advantage comes from unique combinations.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
Noun
  • This distinction is more urgent than ever as AI makes surface-level content alarmingly easy to produce.
    Rhea Wessel, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
  • That distinction unequivocally belongs to Scheffler, who revealed why that is the case after his PGA Championship victory.
    Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
Noun
  • The president recognized a perfect nominee for the times: a brilliant jurist who represented the best of American virtues and exhibited no vices or controversial positions on judicial issues (as had Bork three years earlier).
    Barbara A. Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
  • The City of God, written over the space of around 13 years, was written partly to rebut the allegation that Christianity was responsible for the collapse of an empire, that its adoption had led to a weakening of the virtues that had powered Rome to global dominance.
    Anna Rowlands, Time, 12 May 2025
Noun
  • Rising real estate values and increasing development also drove up costs.
    Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 14 May 2025
  • When traditional assets encounter declines, alternatives may retain their value or even appreciate, reducing overall portfolio volatility.
    Fred Hubler, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
Noun
  • But privately, casino executives from more than half a dozen companies have complained that the process of winning a casino license in New York state has little to do with the merits of the proposals, but instead is highly politicized and expensive — and keeps getting delayed.
    Contessa Brewer, CNBC, 19 May 2025
  • The decision, however, still sidesteps the merits of the case.
    Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 16 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Cardinal virtue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cardinal%20virtue. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

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