vigor

[ vig-er ]

noun

1. active strength or force.
2. healthy physical or mental energy or power; vitality.

   Synonyms: strength, force, drive

3. energetic activity; energy; intensity:

   The economic recovery has given the country a new vigor.

4. force of healthy growth in any living matter or organism, as a plant.
5. active or effective force, especially legal validity.

Other Words From

• vigor·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of vigor¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

see vim and vigor .

Example Sentences

When budgets tighten, the study found, police tend to pursue civil asset forfeiture with greater vigor.

From ProPublica

Yes, you’d get flak if you voted to raise taxes, but the greatest danger comes from failing to fight the left with sufficient vigor.

From Washington Post

He emphasized youth, vigor and centrist reforms to narrowly defeat his Socialist and Gaullist rivals.

From Washington Post

Some research suggests when people are confronted with information that conflicts with their pre-existing views, they counterargue in their minds with such vigor that they end up with more extreme views than prior to the correction.

From Fortune

That would bring new vigor to the fight for school choice, starting with DeVos’ $5 billion tax credit to back privately funded school voucher programs, which support students opting out of traditional public schools for private or parochial schools.

From Ozy

Stittsworth sighed and gazed out the window, whereupon he noticed a male goat mounting a female goat with extreme vigor.

From The Daily Beast

She speaks with vigor about her projects, pointing out her favorite pieces in the museum and library.

From The Daily Beast

It was only the 8th minute of the game, and Argentina was flowing with dangerous vigor.

From The Daily Beast

It looked as if Chrome was lying in wait, but aboard the horse Victor Espinoza sensed a diminished vigor.

From The Daily Beast

House Speaker John Boehner has stalled on immigration with great vigor.

From The Daily Beast

She bathed Madame Ratignolle's face with cologne, while Robert plied the fan with unnecessary vigor.

From Project Gutenberg

Tim says more by the vigor of his smoking than Perry Thomas could express in a year's oration.

From Project Gutenberg

Gunn possessed a purple complexion which attained to full vigor of coloring in the nasal region.

From Project Gutenberg

He possessed a mind of great vigor and enterprise, and was characterized by integrity and amiableness.

From Project Gutenberg

But the new column infused vigor and hope in the hearts of a garrison that had ceased even to despair.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ability
• agility
• alertness
• capability
• dynamism
• endurance
• intensity
• potency
• quickness
• strength
• urgency
• vitality