vital force

American

noun

the force that animates and perpetuates living beings and organisms.

vital force British

noun

(esp in early biological theory) a hypothetical force, independent of physical and chemical forces, regarded as being the causative factor of the evolution and development of living organisms

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

“Still, I’m convinced the Sierra Club is a vital force of nature and truly an irreplaceable pillar in the American environmental movement.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 16, 2025

This constituency is a vital force in the Democratic Party, but its inclusion at the table of power remains a frustrating work in progress.

From Washington Post • Feb. 7, 2023

“As secretary of the department of health and human services, he will be a vital force for progress.”

From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2020

The Italian physicist Alessandro Volta rejected the idea of ‘animal electricity’, proposed by his rival Luigi Galvani as a vital force that animates organic matter.

From Nature • Mar. 29, 2020

They think of the cortex as a chamber holding a formless cloud or jelly driven by a mysterious "vital force."

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023