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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Keller took advantage and scored after two of the gaffes and the third killed a drive in the end zone.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Sep. 2025
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The veteran right-hander — who grew up in Anaheim — had sharp command of his pitches and used it to his advantage throughout the night.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The 6-foot-1, 300-pound lineman has earned several academic distinctions, including placement on the UNLV Dean’s Honor List and the Academic All-Mountain West Team.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
22 Sep. 2025
-
And this distinction between the living and dead elements of production applies as much to the work of plantation slaves as to that of wage earners.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Every time it was dressed up as virtue.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Weeping savors a virtue — compassion, tenderness, pity, love.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Last month, Terrogram’s co-leader from California pled guilty to federal charges of soliciting hate crimes and calling for the murder of government officials via a hit list of high-value targets.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Sep. 2025
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The value of TikTok’s US assets had previously been pegged at anywhere between $20 billion and $100 billion, depending on whether the agreement included access to the app’s algorithm.—
Samantha Waldenberg,
CNN Money,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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There is a thread about the merits of preserving memory, but it’s introduced a little too late and too flimsily to justify all that came before it.—
Lindsey Bahr,
Boston Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Of course, people make boastful statements of dubious merit all the time, but, as our story explains, Robinson has monetized his fantasies by selling development masterclasses to aspiring writers and offering other services for a fee.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cardinal virtue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cardinal%20virtue. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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