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.

While there will always be ways in which VOA can be streamlined and improved, it remains a vital force for good in the world — and a force for American products, policies and values.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 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

Then this vital force is merely smoldering, awaiting the time to flare again into activity when spring awakens the insect world.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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