vital
Americanadjective
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of or relating to life.
vital processes.
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having remarkable energy, liveliness, or force of personality.
a vital leader.
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being the seat or source of life.
the vital organs.
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necessary to life.
vital fluids.
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necessary to the existence, continuance, or well-being of something; indispensable; essential.
vital for a healthy society.
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affecting the existence, well-being, truth, etc., of something.
a vital error.
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of critical importance.
vital decisions.
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destructive to life; deadly.
a vital wound.
adjective
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essential to maintain life
the lungs perform a vital function
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forceful, energetic, or lively
a vital person
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of, relating to, having, or displaying life
a vital organism
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indispensable or essential
books vital to this study
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of great importance; decisive
a vital game
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archaic influencing the course of life, esp negatively
a vital treachery
noun
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(plural)
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the bodily organs, such as the brain, liver, heart, lungs, etc, that are necessary to maintain life
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the organs of reproduction, esp the male genitals
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(plural) the essential elements of anything
Other Word Forms
- nonvital adjective
- nonvitally adverb
- nonvitalness noun
- quasi-vital adjective
- quasi-vitally adverb
- supervital adjective
- supervitally adverb
- supervitalness noun
- unvital adjective
- unvitally adverb
- unvitalness noun
- vitally adverb
- vitalness noun
Etymology
Origin of vital
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin vītālis, equivalent to vīt(a) “life” (derivative of vīvere “to live”; akin to Greek bioûn, Sanskrit jīvati “(he) lives,” English quick ( def. ) ) + -ālis -al 1 ( def. )
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.
Bradshaw said the funding was recognition of the "vital contribution our nation's food producers make to the economy and to our national security".
From BBC
Those types of qualities won’t necessarily show up in quantitative results that an AI can easily crunch, but they are vital to giving a full and fair assessment of an employee.
Once law enforcement identifies the man’s specific clothing, weapon, and the carry holster, it may trigger someone’s memory and generate a vital tip, Vernon said.
From Los Angeles Times
Sesko is yet to start in Carrick's six matches in charge but has come off the bench to net in three of his last four appearances with vital goals.
From Barron's
“A healthy Greenland is vital for America’s national security,” he said.
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.
