Cardinal

/ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/ · adjective

Meaning

Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal..

Definitions by Sense

1. Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal.
2. (nautical) Of or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).
3. Describing a “natural” number used to indicate quantity (e.g., zero, one, two, three), as opposed to an ordinal number indicating relative position.
4. Having a bright red color (from the color of a Catholic cardinal’s cassock).
5. (astrology) Being one of the signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, associated with initiation, creation, and force.
6. (Roman Catholicism) One of the officials appointed by the pope in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking only below the pope, equal to the patriarchs, constituting the special college which elects the pope.
7. Any of various species of New-World passerine songbird in the genus Cardinalis, or in the family Cardinalidae more generally, or of similar appearance and once considered to be related to the former; so called because of their red plumage. (See Wikipedia article for taxonomical information.)
8. A deep red color, somewhat less vivid than scarlet, the traditional colour of a Catholic cardinal's cassock. (same as cardinal red)

Example Sentences

a cardinal rule

But cardinal sins, and hollow hearts, I fear ye.

the cardinal intersections of the zodiack

Impudence is now a cardinal virtue.

a cardinal mark

His uncle, a Cardinal, engages a Spanish youth of Moorish descent called Diego, an expert singer and player on the virginal, to unlock the secrets of the heart,[…]and cure him by the spell of his music.

Francis riled conservative cardinals with his compassion for migrants and refugees, openness towards LGBTQ+ Catholics and demands for action on the climate crisis. Among the frontrunners before the conclave began were Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state; Luis Antonio Tagle, a reformer from the Philippines; Péter Erdő, a traditionalist from Hungary; Robert Sarah, a cardinal from Guinea who criticised Francis’s papacy; and the moderate US cardinal Robert Prevost.

Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.

Synonyms for cardinal

Antonyms for cardinal

Related Words

Word Forms

• more cardinal
• most cardinal
• cardinals

Usage Notes

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