cardinal

Examples

• All

• The cardinal leaves turned a bright shade of cardinal as autumn approached.

• This red cardinal or black cardinal?

• OK, you draw the cardinal.

  Life (2015)

• I press one hand on a picture of a cardinal.

  Fiction book (1991)

• My mother's writing paper has cardinals all over it, so I knew what they looked like.

  Fiction book (1997)

• A cardinal flashed from bough to bough, bright against the clearing evening sky.

  Fiction book (1994)

• She must look like a cardinal among crows, decked out in her scarlet sweater.

  Fiction book (1999)

• I am accustomed to the red cardinal, his graceful body swaying the branches of the pine trees as he flutters from branch to branch.

  Fiction book (2001)

• The dress she wore was a beautiful shade of cardinal, reminiscent of the birds in her garden.

Synonyms

B

bright red

vscardinal

26 1.0

A very strong red colour that is easy to see

is the specific hue like bird plumage rather than any vivid red

C

carmine

vscardinal

23 7.5

A deep red color or the dye used to make it

is the vivid red like a bird's plumage or a ceremonial robe

R

ruby-red

vscardinal

3 3.4

A deep bright red color like a ruby

is the vivid red seen on a bird or robe rather than gem like

Antonyms

D

dull

31 1.0

Not bright or shiny with weak colour

D

drab

23 4.2

Not bright or colorful and not lively

Compounds

C

cardinal number

• Specialized

1 2.4

A number that shows how many things there are, not their order, for example one, two, three

C

cardinal virtue

• Formal

1 8.9

One of the four main moral qualities: careful thinking, fairness, self-control, and courage

B

blue cardinal flower

• US

9.1

A tall plant from eastern North America with dense spikes of blue flowers

C

cardinal compass point

2.5

One of the four main directions on a compass: north, east, south, or west

C

cardinal flower

• US

7.1

A tall North American plant with bright red flowers that grows in wet places

C

cardinal grosbeak

• US

8.4

A bright red North American bird with a crest and a thick beak that eats seeds

C

cardinal numeral

• Specialized

1.6

A word or number that tells how many things there are

C

cardinal tetra

8.4

A small bright freshwater fish with red and blue stripes

C

cardinal vein

• Specialized

9.9

A large early blood vessel in animal embryos that carries blood back to the heart

C

common cardinal vein

7.5

One of two large veins in an embryo that return blood to the heart

A

anterior cardinal vein

• Specialized

9.1

A main vein in an embryo that carries blood from the head to the heart

N

northern cardinal

• US

5.3

A North American songbird with a crest and thick bill, male bright red and female brown with red highlights

P

posterior cardinal vein

• Specialized

9.5

A large vein in an animal embryo that carries blood from the tail and back to the heart

How Red

crimson

58 3.4

cardinal

1 4.1

scarlet

35 2.3

red

51 1.0

pink

43 1.0

Surface Forms

Etymology