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Synonyms

cardinal virtue

American  

noun

  1. anything considered to be an important or characteristic virtue.

    Tenacity is his cardinal virtue.

  2. Ancient Philosophy. cardinal virtues, justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude.

Etymology

Origin of cardinal virtue

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Within a year of each other, Joseph Schumpeter coined the term "Ricardian vice," which you mentioned earlier, and Milton Friedman launched his campaign to revive it as a cardinal virtue.

From Salon • Feb. 1, 2025

Doubt is a cardinal virtue in the sciences, which advance through skeptics’ willingness to question the experts.

From Washington Post • Dec. 16, 2020

Truth was the cardinal virtue of Zoroastrianism, with lying being synonymous with evil.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

Variety is its cardinal virtue, seasoned with the element of surprise.

From New York Times • Aug. 21, 2014

He often boasted that storms were his m�tier, meaning their tonal reproduction in orchestral form or on the keyboard—but I suspect that patience was his cardinal virtue.

From Franz Liszt by Huneker, James

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.