SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS

cardinal

adjective

Of primary or fundamental importance.

Compare the alternatives Definition and examples

Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.

Fundamentally important

Closest synonyms

fundamental central principal chief primary key essential

Related words and expressions

These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.

Usage distinction

Paramount means overriding in importance; cardinal identifies something foundational.

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CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT

See cardinal in use

Accuracy is a cardinal requirement for the archive's catalog.

Dictionary practice example.

For the neighborhood puzzle hunt, a cardinal requirement was that every printed clue lead to a location participants could actually access.

From Choosing What Deserves Attention.

Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.

Synonym reference scope and sources

The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.

WordNet 3.0: selected lexical senses

How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license

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