What does "cardinal" mean?
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.
Cardinal
/ˈkɑɹdɪnəl/ adj, name, noun
adj, name, noun ·Top 500 ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: 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.
- Grammar: cardinal is listed as adj, name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: redbird, abuna, algebraic number, algorismic.
- Useful contrasts: clxiv, eightieth, eleventh.
- Usage evidence: Where there is no common power, there is no law, where no law, no injustice. Force, and fraud, are in war the cardinal virtues.
How to use "cardinal"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cardinal" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cardinal" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cardinal" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cardinal" is acting as adj, name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 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. countable, uncountable
"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."
- 2 A player on the St. Louis Cardinals team.
"Smith became a Cardinal as the result of a pre-season trade."
- 3 A player on a sports team at Stanford University.
- 4 crested thick-billed North American finch having bright red plumage in the male wordnet
- 5 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.) countable, uncountable
"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."
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 A player on the Arizona Cardinals team.
- 7 a variable color averaging a vivid red wordnet
- 8 A deep red color, somewhat less vivid than scarlet, the traditional colour of a Catholic cardinal's cassock. (same as cardinal red) countable, uncountable
"Dark navy-blue, cardinal, golden-brown, old blue, olive, slate-gray, and telegraph-blue are the favorite solid colors seen in heavy beaver cloths […]"
- 9 A student or player on a sports team at the University of Louisville.
- 10 (Roman Catholic Church) one of a group of more than 100 prominent bishops in the Sacred College who advise the Pope and elect new Popes wordnet
- 11 Ellipsis of cardinal number, a number indicating quantity, or the size of a set (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3). (See Cardinal_number.) abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"This cardinal number is the smallest of the infinite cardinal numbers; it is the one to which Cantor has appropriated the Hebrew aleph with the suffix 0, to distinguish it from larger infinite cardinals. Thus the name of the smallest of infinite cardinals is ₀א."
- 12 the number of elements in a mathematical set; denotes a quantity but not the order wordnet
- 13 Ellipsis of cardinal numeral, a word used to represent a cardinal number. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"The commonest numerals in Latin, as in English, are the "cardinals" […] and the "ordinals" […]."
- 14 Ellipsis of cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), a flowering plant. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"The sweet-briar rose with perfume good, / And the violet grows in the Milton wood, / The cardinal red—a queen is she, / But the sweetest flower is Mary Lee."
- 15 Ellipsis of cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), a freshwater fish. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
- 16 A woman's short cloak with a hood, originally made of scarlet cloth. countable, historical, uncountable
"[…]; and whilst she was looking over several pieces of each, she took an opportunity of concealing under her cardinal a piece of cotton, and several handkerchiefs, with which she went off undiscovered;[…]."
- 17 Mulled red wine. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"He goes up, and finds the remains of the supper, Tankards full of egg-flip and cardinal, and a party playing at vingt-un."
Adjective
- 1 Of fundamental importance; crucial, pivotal.
"a cardinal rule"
- 2 Of or relating to the cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).
"a cardinal mark"
- 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 Being one of the signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, associated with initiation, creation, and force.
Adjective
- 1 serving as an essential component wordnet
- 2 being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from French common among French Canadians as well as Cree and Métis indigenous peoples in Canada.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Where there is no common power, there is no law, where no law, no injustice. Force, and fraud, are in war the cardinal virtues."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cardinal"?
Common synonyms include: redbird, abuna, algebraic number, algorismic, algorithmic, aliquot.
How do you use "cardinal" in a sentence?
Where there is no common power, there is no law, where no law, no injustice. Force, and fraud, are in war the cardinal virtues.
How do you pronounce "cardinal"?
Pronounced /ˈkɑɹdɪnəl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
Capitalization of cardinal (bird).
Etymology 3
Capitalization of cardinal (color).
Etymology 4
From Canadian French Cardinal, from French cardinal, from Latin cardinālis.