Cardinal Meaning
/ˈkɑːd(ɪ)nəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal.
adjOf or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).
Sentence Examples
The cardinal directions are: north, south, east, and west.
There are four cardinal points: East, south, west and north.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ directions are north, south, east, and west on a compass.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a bright red bird that is common in North America city.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Latin cardō Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin cardinālisder. Middle French cardinalbor. English cardinal From Middle French cardinal, from Latin cardinālis (“pertaining to a hinge, hence applied to that on which something turns or depends, important, principal, chief”), from cardin-, cardō (“hinge”) + -ālis, adjectival suffix.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"But cardinal sins, and hollow hearts, I fear ye."
— 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
"the cardinal intersections of the zodiack"
— 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:
"Impudence is now a cardinal virtue."
— a. 1631, Michael Drayton, To my noble friend Mr. William Brown, of the evil time:
"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."
— 1932, Maurice Baring, chapter 16, in Friday's Business:
"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."
— 2025 May 8, Angela Giuffrida and Harriet Sherwood, “White smoke from Sistine Chapel chimney signals election of new pope”, in The Guardian:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ directions are north, south, east, and west on a compass.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a bright red bird that is common in North America city.