cardinal
/ˈkɑrdɪnəl/
adjective
- Most important; fundamental or primary.
- Honesty is a cardinal rule in our family.
- She made a cardinal error by forgetting to save her work.
- The cardinal principle of democracy is that every vote counts.
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noun
- A high-ranking official in the Roman Catholic Church, appointed by the Pope and responsible for electing a new Pope.
- The Pope appointed three new cardinals last year.
- The cardinal wore a bright red robe and hat.
- Cardinals from around the world gathered in Vatican City.
- A North American songbird with a crest and bright red feathers (the male) or brownish-red feathers (the female).
- We spotted a female cardinal building a nest in the bush.
- A bright red cardinal landed on the bird feeder outside my window.
- Cardinals are known for their beautiful whistling songs.
- A number that indicates quantity (e.g., one, two, three), as opposed to an ordinal number (e.g., first, second).
- The test asks you to write the cardinal numbers from 1 to 20.
- Children learn cardinal numbers before ordinal numbers.
- In the sentence 'I have three apples,' 'three' is a cardinal number.