Adjacent Words

Vital definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

VI'TAL, a. [L. vitalis, from vita, life. This must be a contraction of victa, for vivo forms vixi, victus; Gr. contracted.]
1. Pertaining to life, either animal or vegetable; as vital energies; vital powers.
2. Contributing to life; necessary to life; as vital air; vital blood.
3. Containing life.
Spirits that live throughout, vital in every part - and vital virtue infus'd, and vital warmth.
4. Being the seat of life; being that on which life depends.
The dart flew on, and pierc'd a vital part.
5. Very necessary; highly important; essential. Religion is a business of vital concern. Peace is of vital importance to our country.
6. So disposed as to live.
Pythagoras and Hippocrates affirm the birth of the seventh month to be vital. [Little used.]
Vital air, pure air or oxygen gas, which is essential to animal life.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: urgently needed; absolutely necessary; "a critical element of the plan"; "critical medical supplies"; "vital for a healthy society"; "of vital interest" [syn: critical, vital]
2: performing an essential function in the living body; "vital organs"; "blood and other vital fluids"; "the loss of vital heat in shock"; "a vital spot"; "life-giving love and praise" [syn: vital, life-sustaining]
3: full of spirit; "a dynamic full of life woman"; "a vital and charismatic leader"; "this whole lively world" [syn: full of life, lively, vital]
4: manifesting or characteristic of life; "a vital, living organism"; "vital signs"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin vitalis of life, from vita life; akin to Latin vivere to live — more at quick Date: 14th century 1. a. existing as a manifestation of life b. concerned with or necessary to the maintenance of life <vital organs> <blood and other vital fluids> 2. full of life and vigor ; animated 3. characteristic of life or living beings 4. a. fundamentally concerned with or affecting life or living beings: as (1) tending to renew or refresh the living ; invigorating (2) destructive to life ; mortal b. of the utmost importance <a vital clue> <vital resources> 5. recording data relating to lives 6. of, relating to, or constituting the staining of living tissues Synonyms: see essential • vitally adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 of, concerned with, or essential to organic life (vital functions). 2 essential to the existence of a thing or to the matter in hand (a vital question; secrecy is vital). 3 full of life or activity. 4 affecting life. 5 fatal to life or to success etc. (a vital error). 6 disp. important. --n. (in pl.) the body's vital organs, e.g. the heart and brain. Phrases and idioms: vital capacity the volume of air that can be expelled from the lungs after taking the deepest possible breath. vital force 1 (in Bergson's philosophy) life-force. 2 any mysterious vital principle. vital power the power to sustain life. vital statistics 1 the number of births, marriages, deaths, etc. 2 colloq. the measurements of a woman's bust, waist, and hips. Derivatives: vitally adv. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L vitalis f. vita life

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vital Vi"tal, a. [F., fr. L. vitalis, fr. vita life; akin to vivere to live. See Vivid.] 1. Belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable; as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions. 2. Contributing to life; necessary to, or supporting, life; as, vital blood. Do the heavens afford him vital food? --Spenser. And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth. --Milton. 3. Containing life; living. ``Spirits that live throughout, vital in every part.'' --Milton. 4. Being the seat of life; being that on which life depends; mortal. The dart flew on, and pierced a vital part. --Pope. 5. Very necessary; highly important; essential. A competence is vital to content. --Young. 6. Capable of living; in a state to live; viable. [R.] Pythagoras and Hippocrates . . . affirm the birth of the seventh month to be vital. --Sir T. Browne. Vital air, oxygen gas; -- so called because essential to animal life. [Obs.] Vital capacity (Physiol.), the breathing capacity of the lungs; -- expressed by the number of cubic inches of air which can be forcibly exhaled after a full inspiration. Vital force. (Biol.) See under Force. The vital forces, according to Cope, are nerve force (neurism), growth force (bathmism), and thought force (phrenism), all under the direction and control of the vital principle. Apart from the phenomena of consciousness, vital actions no longer need to be considered as of a mysterious and unfathomable character, nor vital force as anything other than a form of physical energy derived from, and convertible into, other well-known forces of nature. Vital functions (Physiol.), those functions or actions of the body on which life is directly dependent, as the circulation of the blood, digestion, etc. Vital principle, an immaterial force, to which the functions peculiar to living beings are ascribed. Vital statistics, statistics respecting the duration of life, and the circumstances affecting its duration. Vital tripod. (Physiol.) See under Tripod. Vital vessels (Bot.), a name for latex tubes, now disused. See Latex.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vital Vi"tal, n. A vital part; one of the vitals. [R.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you say that something is vital, you mean that it is necessary or very important. The port is vital to supply relief to millions of drought victims... Nick Wileman is a school caretaker so it is vital that he gets on well with young people... After her release she was able to give vital information about her kidnapper. = crucial ADJ • vitally Lesley's career in the church is vitally important to her. ADV: usu ADV adj, also ADV with v 2. If you describe someone or something as vital, you mean that they are very energetic and full of life. They are both very vital people and a good match... = lively ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Essential, indispensable. 2. Necessary to life, life-supporting. 3. Living, alive, having life, animate. 4. Very necessary, highly important, essential, paramount.

Moby Thesaurus

abiding, aboveground, acid, age-long, aged, agog, alacritous, alive, alive and kicking, all agog, among the living, ancient, animate, animated, animating, antic, antique, anxious, armipotent, authoritative, avid, bang, basic, bedrock, biological, biotic, biting, bouncing, breathing, breathless, brisk, bursting to, called for, capable of life, capersome, cardinal, central, chronic, cogent, coltish, compulsory, conscious, constant, constitutive, continuing, corrosive, critical, crucial, cutting, desirous, diuturnal, drive, driving, durable, dynamic, eager, effective, endowed with life, enduring, energetic, enlivened, enlivening, essential, evergreen, existent, exuberant, flush, focal, forceful, forcible, forward, frisky, frolicsome, full of beans, full of life, fundamental, gamesome, gay, getup, gutsy, hale, hale and hearty, hardy, hearty, high-potency, high-powered, high-pressure, high-tension, immutable, impatient, imperative, important, impressive, in force, in power, in the flesh, incisive, indicated, indispensable, inspirited, instinct with life, integral, intransient, inveterate, invigorating, irreducible, irreductible, irreplaceable, irresistible, keen, key, lasting, life-and-death, life-giving, life-or-death, live, lively, living, long-lasting, long-lived, long-standing, long-term, longeval, longevous, lusty, macrobiotic, main, mandatory, material, mighty, mighty in battle, mordant, necessary, needed, needful, nervous, of long duration, of long standing, of vital importance, operative, organic, organized, panting, paramount, penetrating, perdurable, perduring, perennial, permanent, perpetual, persistent, persisting, physiological, piercing, pivotal, playful, poignant, potent, powerful, prepotent, prerequisite, prompt, puissant, punchy, quick, quickening, raring to, ready, ready and willing, red-blooded, rejuvenating, remaining, required, requisite, reviving, robust, robustious, robustuous, rollicking, rollicksome, rompish, rude, rugged, ruling, sempervirent, sensational, sinewed, sinewy, skittish, slashing, spirited, sportive, sprightly, stable, stalwart, staying, steadfast, stout, strenuous, striking, strong, sturdy, substantive, telling, tenacious of life, tough, trenchant, unfading, unforgoable, valid, very much alive, viable, vigorous, vim, vitality, vitalizing, vivacious, vivid, vivified, vivifying, wanted, zestful, zippy, zoetic