WordNet
n. one of the seven preeminent virtues
Usage examples of "cardinal virtue".
Mister Mackay, now, he was perhaps on the young side to be a captain, but had the cardinal virtue of being able to listen to his sergeants.
They may all be summed up in one word, the cardinal virtue for which my sister is named: prudence.
In his lightship, the Cardinal Virtue, he required only three days to reach the Cluster.
It might well be that the people who control the IT megacorps consider it desirable or necessary to persuade their would-be heirs that patience is still the cardinal virtue-that in order to inherit the earth they only have to wait until their elders lose their memories, their minds, and, in the end, their lives.
Davey's my ears, that's how much I respect the cardinal virtue of confidentiality!
Hope is a cardinal virtue, my son, Emban said piously, Even when its misplaced.
To Sherwood it was a deliberate snub, since punctuality was a cardinal virtue in his value system.
But the cardinal virtue was this: reserve your fire, and never trust anyone.