cardinal virtue
Americannoun
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anything considered to be an important or characteristic virtue.
Tenacity is his cardinal virtue.
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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
“Be ready!” whispered Giraffe again, and thus unconsciously repeating the motto of the organization to which both of them belonged, for preparedness is the cardinal virtue in every Boy Scout.
From The Boy Scouts in the Maine Woods The New Test for the Silver Fox Patrol by Carter, Herbert
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.
