vigor
Americannoun
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active strength or force.
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healthy physical or mental energy or power; vitality.
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energetic activity; energy; intensity.
The economic recovery has given the country a new vigor.
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force of healthy growth in any living matter or organism, as a plant.
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active or effective force, especially legal validity.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vigor
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English vigo(u)r, from Anglo-French; Middle French vigeur, from Latin vigor “force, energy,” from vig(ēre) “to be vigorous, thrive” + -or -or 1
Explanation
If your new puppy runs all over the house, jumps on the furniture, and enthusiastically chews up your socks, you may congratulate yourself on your new pup's vigor, or lively sense of energy. Aside from mental or physical vitality, the noun vigor can be applied to an imaginative style of thought or expression and also to a forceful intensity. "The jury was not only willing to acquit the defendant, but also nominate him for sainthood, by the time his attorney had delivered, with vigor, an impassioned plea for his client's innocence."
Vocabulary lists containing vigor
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Chains
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"Marigolds"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Banderas provides his mentor figure with a delightful vigor, but Johnson can’t quite figure out what to do with him, or how to make Chef feel like a real person.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
He declined to elaborate on their relationship, but encouraged everyone to kiss their pals, of all genders, with the vigor of an artist who is finally, truly, free.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
They played with a confidence and vigor unfamiliar to previous national editions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
A spokesperson for Synergy said the company "will defend against these allegations with vigor", the New York Times reported.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
Then she would swing the twig with a vigor which belied her years.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
