cardinalnoun [ C ]
uk/ˈkɑː.dɪ.nəl/us/ˈkɑːr.dɪ.nəl/cardinal noun [ C ] (PRIEST)
a priest of very high rank in the Roman Catholic Church:
Cardinals elect and advise the Pope.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Religious leaders & officials
- archbishop
- archbishopric
- archdeacon
- ayatollah
- bishop
- clerical
- confessor
- curacy
- curate
- deacon
- ministry
- muezzin
- mullah
- padre
- papal
- primate
- rabbi
- rector
- sexton
- swami
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cardinal noun [ C ] (NUMBER)
also cardinal number a number that represents amount, such as 1, 2, 3, rather than order, such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Compare
ordinal
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Numbers generally
- antilogarithm
- Arabic numeral
- C, c
- D, d
- digit
- I, i
- infinity
- L, l
- log
- logarithm
- M, m
- mode
- nos
- number
- ordinal
- quantitative
- serial number
- variable
- whole number
- X, x
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cardinal noun [ C ] (BIRD)
a North American bird, the male of which has bright red feathers
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Other wild birds
- bird of paradise
- blackbird
- blue tit
- bluebird
- bluejay
- honeyeater
- house martin
- house sparrow
- hummingbird
- Indian mynah
- martin
- mockingbird
- mynah
- nightingale
- oriole
- squab
- starling
- swift
- toucan
- turtle dove
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cardinaladjective [ before noun ]
uk/ˈkɑː.dɪ.nəl/us/ˈkɑːr.dɪ.nəl/of great importance:
a cardinal rule/error/sin
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Very important or urgent
- all-important
- arch
- at all cost(s) idiom
- be a matter of life and/or death idiom
- burning
- chief
- considerable
- critical
- major league
- make the world go around/round idiom
- materially
- minor league
- mission-critical
- prized
- radical
- sacred
- salient
- serious
- seriously
- substantial
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